The Williams Family is to end its involvement with the Williams Grand Prix after this weekend's Italian Grand Prix, ending their involvement with the fast car world of Formula 1 as a whole. The team was sold just a few weeks ago to investment company Dorilton Capital, and today Frank and Claire Williams announced they would step down from the team despite Dorilton being more than happy for them to continue in their roles as team principal and deputy team principal respectively.
The End Of An Era
The news brings to an end the 43-year history in the sport for Frank Williams and his family. In that time, the team has won 114 Grands Prix and seven F1 drivers titles. The team signed up to Formula 1’s new Concorde Agreement last week – crucial in a season that has been weird in so many ways – which, tied up with the ownership changes, secures the future of the team in the sport. It is understood that Dorilton wanted Claire and Frank Williams to stay on at the team, but the family felt it was right for the team to have a fresh start.
Claire Williams said, "With the future of the team now secured, this feels like the appropriate time for us to step away from the sport. As a family, we have always prioritized Williams. We have demonstrated that by our recent actions with the strategic review process and we believe now is the right time to hand over the reins and give the new owners the opportunity to take the team into the future.”
A New Beginning
"We are greatly appreciative of Dorilton's encouragement to continue, but in them, we know the team will be in good hands and the Williams name will live on. This may be the end of an era for Williams as a family-run team, but it is the beginning of a new era for Williams Racing and we wish them much success in the future.”
The announcement the team was for sale came earlier this year, with Dorilton taking over last month. There has been no announcement as to who would take over in Claire's role as an effective team principal, but that is expected to come next week. In the meantime, the team has announced its new board members will be Matthew Savage, the chairman of Dorilton Capital, and Darren Fultz, who is the CEO of the investment fund. James Matthews is joining the board of directors, who is the CEO of Eden Rock Group and husband of Pippa Middleton, the latter of which the paparazzi once caught stuck on the wrong side of the road.
Sources: Autosport, Essentially Sports, Fox Sports