Ex-Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes Williams is “dead” as a team and has pinned the blame purely on deputy boss Claire Williams.
The Canadian, who won his title with the Grove-based team in 1997, has been a vocal critic of their recent decisions, starting with the arrival of Lance Stroll in 2017 and subsequently taking on Sergey Sirotkin this year, accusing the leadership of focusing purely on money.
This season has seen the situation at Williams only get worse as a flawed car has left them at the back of the grid and even a new rear wing introduced last weekend at Silverstone had unintended consequences, with both drivers spinning off in qualifying.
Asked about the future of his former team by Motorsport-Total.com, the current pundit for Sky Italia was unceremonious in declaring there wasn’t one.
“No, the team is dead,” Villeneuve claimed. “I do not see anything… There is simply no management.”
Identifying where the problems started, Jacques was clear it came from the decision of founder Sir Frank Williams when he handed over control to his daughter Claire.
“There was an alternative back then: either an heir – or an heir – and they chose Claire instead of [her brother] Jonathan,” he said. “A big mistake, you just have to look where the team is today.
“When it comes to a team like that you first have to look at the top of the pyramid, the fish starts to stink on the head,” Villeneuve added.
“They are completely blind when it’s all about realising where the team stands. You have to admit you’ve messed up, I do not see how the team is going to get out of it, I just do not see it.”
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The arrival of former Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe in 2017 was thought to be the start of a turnaround for Williams, however, even he admits he hasn’t experienced anything like the current situation at Grove.
“Some things you get right. Some things, if I looked back, I could do differently,” Lowe stated.
“But that’s the nature of life, you face challenges and you learn from them. And, you hope that builds your experience to do a better job next time.”
