The Holdings company for Williams sold a majority stake of WAE last year for £38mill but still owned a 25% share as of April 2020.
This was definitely writing on the wall. The Williams way of running business from the early 2000s already started their downfall, unfortunately. If they had planned well, things would have been so much different now.
I hope not ! Why whould the new owners invest millions to relaunch the team and then hire the former technical director who retired 10 years ago ?
Question that's been on my mind?? Do the new owners know how to run an F1 team?? Or are they going to piece meal the F1 team??
Sounds like Claire was doing absolutely nothing at all so guess not much will change in the running of the team for now https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/williams-family-news-shock-f1-race-team She started in marketing and boy did she do a great job with sponsors especially this year
They could recruit among the many F2 or WEC team managers. Just look how McLaren recruited Seidl from Porsche, for example.
Seidl comes from a winning German LMP1 progamme. They would have to find someone from Team Joest at Audi....or someone extraordinary....and they don't come cheap either.
There are many competent LMP2 or GTE team managers, I am sure, or even F2. I think Toto Wolff and Christian Horner, as well as Vasseur (Sauber), came from F2 management.
Image Unavailable, Please Login Mike O'Driscoll Announces Intention to Retire Mike O’Driscoll, Chief Executive Officer, Williams Grand Prix Engineering, today announced his intention to retire. The recent sale of Williams Grand Prix Engineering to Dorilton Capital marked the successful conclusion of the strategic review announced earlier this year and secures the long-term future of the Williams F1 team. It followed the agreement of the new Formula One Concorde that provides a solid foundation for the future of the sport, especially independent constructors such as Williams. Mike, 64, will support the smooth transition of ownership through this year and ensure that the team is well positioned to build for the future. Mike O’Driscoll commented “It has been and remains a huge privilege to be part of this great team. I am proud to have played my part in securing the long-term future of Williams and look forward to working closely with Matthew and his team, to ensure a smooth transition and the best possible trajectory for the team’s future success.” Matthew Savage, Chairman of Dorilton Capital and Williams Grand Prix Engineering, said: "Mike has made a huge contribution as CEO, working alongside the Williams family since the IPO in 2011. He has steered the corporate side of the group admirably through challenging times and has been invaluable in preparing Williams for the next exciting phase." https://www.williamsf1.com/news/2020/09/mike-odriscoll-announces-intention-to-retire
Confirmation of Simon Roberts as New Williams Team Principal. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
https://www.planetf1.com/news/claire-williams-defends-legacy/ She survived despite the kickings? She sacrificed the team and who was gonna fire her anyway?
I trying to figure out how Dorilton will make money on Williams. Usually private equity firms put just the very minimum equity and load up the acquired company with debt, betting that a turn around & cost cutting will substantially and continuously grow earnings, increasing the book/market value of the firm. Then, after around 7 years, they sell the company, and pocket a decent ROI, which is usually expected to be well over 10%/year. However, even the top F1 teams, with big revenues, fail to produce good returns because for them (Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull) it's a marketing expense, they are not expecting to get good ROI/ROE out of it. How Dorilton will change that???