Not only was Bellof the fastest car on track and catching Senna, if the race hadn't been shortened then Senna wouldn't have finished as it was later found he had a cracked wishbone and it would have either soon failed, or if it had been a dry race failed already.
And of course the ultimate irony of that race was: They waved it off to give the victory in "France" to a Frenchman. And Prost won. But: Because of the missing race distance they awarded only half points. Prost lost the WDC that year by a mere 1/2 point to Lauda. Had the race gone the full distance and Prost ended up e.g. 2nd to Bellof, he would have won enough points to win the WDC. Then again, Prost might have stuffed it if the race had gone on. But it was Karma, that he lost that year to the rat. I loved it. As for Bellof: Doesn't he hold the record on the Ring?
[ Clerk of the course,Jacky Ickx was later suspended from FIA official duty, following his decision to stop the race in very suspicious circumstances, and without consulting the marshals. I don't know if Ickx wanted to favour Frenchman Prost, but he was a Porsche factory driver, and the McLaren had a Porsche engine. Also, there was confusion about the way the race was stopped, as the procedure hadn't bee respected. The red and chequered flags were waved together. Red flag means race stopped, chequered flag means end of the race . A race can be restarted after a red flag. The first to see the flags was in fact Ayrton Senna who by that time had passed Prost ! But the rules say that in case of interruption (red flag), the order of previous lap is taken into account, so Prost was declared winner, and the Brazilian felt somehow cheated of a win.
...there was confusion about the way the race was stopped... No kidding. I sat there across from the swimming pool in the soaking rain. Suddenly they announced the end and opened the track. We all started walking towards the train station. In Rascasse I came across a F1 car, that DNFed there. No guards. I was tempted to take the steering wheel with me, but decided to be a good sport and left it alone. Then I bumped into Lauda who was trying to get to pits. Finally I arrived at the train station where there were no trains ready, so the station was closed. Unfortunately I was the first to arrive at the closed gate with thousands of people behind me pushing. I was almost crushed by the masses.
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/williams-refinanced-engineering-division-sale/4779255/ So they sold the engineering business to keep losing money in F1? Good luck Claire..
Yep, they lost the plot when they did not sell to BMW in the early 2000s, they are circling the drain. They believed their own hype too long and it will cost them dearly. Desperate measures with no one to blame but Frank and Claire.
I don't know if Claire Williams was around the team when her father refused to sell to BMW. Anyway, I thought it was the wrong decision at the time, but I wasn't surprised. It was all part of Williams's culture to stay independent at all cost. The clash of personality between Patrick Head and Mario Thyssen of BMW sealed the fate of that association. Of course we can say with insight that BMW bought Sauber, only to abandon it a few years later.
They would have been better off selling to BMW. They would have made a lot of money and bought it all back a few years later for pennies on the dollar. Missed opportunity.
Could have been worse. They could have partnered with Rich energy as it was almost the case last year. But, still, how are they ever going to get out of the hole? Only way is selling the team now.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/52612208 Can someone senior there just fire Claire already? This is just embarrassing. Salary, benefits and position without any of the hard work, knowledge or respect. Good to be the daughter of Frank I suppose. Anyone else would be long gone. No wonder the brother still resents that she got her role.
Are you trying to say that the role of Simon Roberts should be satisfied by Claire and b/c she had to hire Simon she is unfit for her position? Haven't followed Williams closely since the Bottas-Massa partnership. Is there any assumed reason why the brother did not get the position?
Yes. She was initially given a role she lacked any experience in, has performed incredibly poorly and they have spent the last few years diluting her responsibilities and work load, hiring others to do them whilst she retains all the benefits of that initial role. And they wonder why the team/company has become a laughing stock. They might as well hang a portrait of her in the foyer and pay her to stay away. Probably be more productive.
Is that why Enzo Ferrari didn't attend races ? No to get in the way like Claire Williams does, you think? Only kidding ....
Exclusive: The owner of the Williams F1 team is said to be preparing to launch a strategic review that could lead to the sale of a large stake in the company 43 years after it was founded. An announcement could come alongside the results of Williams Grand Prix Holdings tomorrow.
Williams considers Formula 1 team sale as company posts £13m loss Image Unavailable, Please Login The Williams Grand Prix Holdings (WGPH) company has announced it is considering selling its businesses, which includes its Formula 1 team, in the wake of its ongoing financial struggles. Williams is one of the oldest teams on the grid, having first raced at the 1977 Spanish Grand Prix, and is still majority-family owned by co-founder Sir Frank Williams with a 51 per cent stake, whilst co-founder Sir Patrick Head holds a 9.3 per cent stake. In 2011 the company was floated on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to raise capital and as such must release public financial filings and in its latest statement, WGPH confirmed it was exploring several options to raise funds, one of which is the “potential sale of the whole Company”. However the board are also considering other options of raising new capital or the sale of a minority or majority share. “As part of this new strategic direction, the WGPH board is undertaking a review of all the various strategic options available to the Company,” the statement reads. “Options being considered include, but are not limited to, raising new capital for the business, a divestment of a minority stake in WGPH, or a divestment of a majority stake in WGPH including a potential sale of the whole Company. “Whilst no decisions have been made regarding the optimal outcome yet, to facilitate discussions with interested parties, the Company announces the commencement of a “formal sale process”. Williams confirmed no offers to buy the entire company were on the table yet, but that it is holding talks with “a small number of parties regarding a potential investment”. The news comes as Williams is expected to be hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and has already seen revenues fall to £160.2m in 2019 compared to £176.5m in 2018, resulting in a loss of £13m. Despite this, Williams insists it is ready to compete in the 2020 F1 season when it gets underway in July with the Austrian GP. “While the Company has faced a number of challenges, Williams currently remains funded and ready to resume racing when the calendar allows in 2020,” read a statement. “The WGPH board believes that the strategic review and formal sale process is the right and prudent thing to do in order to take time to consider a full range of options and put the Formula 1 team in the best possible position for the future.” The team also confirmed this week that it would split with title sponsor ROKiT and has yet to offer a full explanation for the reasons behind this move. https://www.motorsportweek.com/2020/05/29/williams-puts-formula-1-team-up-for-sale/
BREAKING: Williams F1 "announces the commencement of a 'formal sale process'" and is considering the "sale of the whole company" Image Unavailable, Please Login
That's all she wrote. Team is for sale in part or in whole. Their title sponsor is gone now, too. As part of this new strategic direction, the WGPH board is undertaking a review of all the various strategic options available to the Company. Options being considered include, but are not limited to, raising new capital for the business, a divestment of a minority stake in WGPH, or a divestment of a majority stake in WGPH including a potential sale of the whole Company. Whilst no decisions have been made regarding the optimal outcome yet, to facilitate discussions with interested parties, the Company announces the commencement of a "formal sale process" (as referred to in Note 2 on Rule 2.6 of the Takeover Code).
Should we have a whip around? We could rebrand it “fchat racing”? in all seriousness it will be a sad day to loose Williams from the grid.
Shocking,... says no one. Teams come and go,... but Williams was a powerhouse not too long ago. It's a sad day for F1.