It is not only patients infected with COVID-19 who are on artificial respiration. For Claire Williams, it is “absolutely essential” for the future of Williams that Formula 1 can resume competition this year, at the risk of seeing his team disappear.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Claire Williams, deputy director of Williams F1, explained the importance for her team to see the races restarted as soon as possible, which is a sine qua none condition to allow, according to her, teams to survive the crisis. “Obviously we have to wait until the time is right to do it safely”, she says. “F1 is currently in an incredibly difficult environment.”
“We, the stable managers, the FIA and the F1, have spent so much time locked in meetings in the past four weeks, to make sure that we do absolutely everything we need to get out of it all unharmed at the end of this year… It is clear that a large part of this work consists in knowing when we will be able to resume competition, in particular for a team like ours. We are one of the true freelancers who remain, we don’t have the support that the majority of our competitors have at the top and bottom of the grid. “
“An opportunity”
For Williams, the survival of the team depends largely on the ability of F1 to restart the machine as soon as possible and produce races to generate income associated with expenses already heavily incurred. “Going to run this year is absolutely essential”, continues the manager. “But like I said, it has to be when you can do it safely. We’re just hoping to get back on track this year, to race.”
A number of F1 figures have called for a major overhaul of the stables’ financial model by advocating a budget ceiling set at $ 100 million from 2021, several tens of millions less than what many are already using, and almost three times less than some of the most endowed teams.
A ceiling of 175 million dollars had already been agreed for next year, but Claire Williams believes that the new financial rules have come too late to protect F1 from the current crisis. She even judges that the extent of certain difficulties encountered today could have been different in this context of pandemic. “I think that if these regulations had been implemented two years ago, we might not all be as worried as we probably are today”, she said in the same interview.
“We’re a bit exposed right now, but I’m confident we can get out of it; I’m sure: I’m always eternally optimistic! I think this is an opportunity, and that Formula 1 and the model in which it operates has been exposed as probably an unsustainable model when something like this happens. I think the work we can do now to ensure the survival of every team in our sport is absolutely essential that if a similar situation were to recur – and God forbid – we would all be much better protected rather than having to struggle as we probably should do now. “
Claire Williams acknowledged that variable travel restrictions and the possibility of events depending on the country made it difficult to have a precise idea of when racing could resume. “I know that the Formula 1 group is working hard on many issues, in collaboration with other sports organizations, to find solutions and ways to revive our sports activities”, can she only notice.
“It should only be done when we are sure we can do it. But we have to start organizing races again. The money from the constructors’ championship bonuses is very important to our business and it is very difficult to try to find a solution if we don’t have races this year. “
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