Outgoing engineering chief Rob Smedley believes Williams needs to “modernise” and “attack all areas” if they are to overcome their 2018 slump.
A change in car design philosophy by technical chief Paddy Lowe exposed a number of problems within the Grove-based team as the FW41 chassis proved flawed and has actually performed worse than its predecessor at the majority of circuits.
The result is just seven points scored so far this season and the uncomfortable position of last in the Constructors’ Championship with the Briton outlining what needs to be done.
“I think it would be a mistake to pinpoint one area and say that has to be the sole concentration or that’s the sole problem; it’s not,” Smedley told Autosport.
“There’s never one magic bullet, in all areas really, you can never stop learning and improving.
“They’ve got strong leadership and Claire [Williams] is at the front of that leadership. I think at that leadership level they need a recovery plan and that has to attack all areas of the business.
“It has to be technical, but it has to be all the support structure of the business as well.
“There are areas that need modernisation, there are areas that need change and there are areas you should recognise that are strong compared to other Formula 1 teams but are not supported in other ways.
“It’s a long road, they’re a talented bunch there, there are some really good technical people, some really good engineers and a good management group and the trick now is they have to pull together and start to go in one direction,” he concluded.
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Smedley has decided not to continue in the attempted revival of Williams though, taking time off with his family despite rumours of a possible offer from a former employer in Ferrari.
And while the current situation is very difficult, he does his work has helped in some key areas.
“I joined Williams at a time when they were evolving from having a torrid time of it,” he said.
“[For] the new regulations in 2014, the part that I was going to play in the journey was to take on the vehicle science, the vehicle performance side of it, the race operations and to try to help out in that area.
“If you look back at 2012, 2013 and from that point on, from 2014, with the huge effort that all of the guys that work in that department, we have been able to grow it, we’ve been able to improve it, and hopefully I leave it in better shape than it was.”