Williams deputy team boss Claire Williams has sought to reassure the financial future of the squad amid an anticipated loss of revenue next season.
The Grove outfit will lose title sponsor Martini, sponsors and backing associated with Lance Stroll and receive reduced prize money from likely finishing bottom of this year’s Constructors’ Championship.
All of this has called into question the long-term future of Williams, with the daughter of founder Sir Frank suggesting earlier in the year that it could be bleak with a budget cap.
“Williams is a publicly listed company and our accounts are there for everyone to see,” she said defiantly at an event in Singapore.
“There is a lot of speculation out there with regard to Williams’ financial health. Williams has had a healthy budget this year to compete with and will have a healthy budget to compete with next year.
“Williams has been in Formula 1 for more than 40 years, and we will continue to be in F1. This is what we do and we always have had a healthy budget by which to do it.”
Also Read:
- Robert Kubica to weigh up F1 alternatives without 2019 seat
- Force India acknowledge Stroll seat fitting for 2019
- Williams dependent on Paddy Lowe to turnaround competitiveness
- Williams is “dead” because of Claire, Villeneuve claims
All this comes at what is generally considered the worst moment in the team’s history, as a flawed car design has left their drivers fighting at the back of the grid this season.
“We’ve been analysing what went wrong with this car, and through that process, other problems have raised their ugly heads,” Williams told Motorsport.com.
“The team is going through an absolute overhaul and transformation in order to take us into 2019 in a better place, [but] it is going to take some time.
“We are not going to come out next year winning races again. That is not realistic.
“It takes a long time to turn a team around in F1, not least a team the scale of ours. So it is a work in progress but I am optimistic for the future 100 per cent.”
