George Russell “Very Confident” Williams Won’t Be Slowest F1 Team Next Year

Having won nine Constructors’ and seven Drivers’ titles in their 44-year history, Williams are one of the most iconic and successful teams in F1. However, in recent times, they have fallen upon difficult times as they have embarked on a slow descent down the standings to their current position as the backmarker team in F1. However, George Russell is optimistic for the team’s future and feels that the team will not be backmarkers in 2020.

This iconic team was sold by the Williams family to Dorilton Capital in 2020; the 2021 season will be the first full season in F1 in which no member of the Williams family will be involved with the team. The new management structure of Jost Capito functioning as the CEO of the operation and Simon Roberts as team principal will be hoping to make a marked improvement on last season in 2021.

Williams heading in the right direction according to George Russell

In an interview, George Russell spoke about how impressed he has been with the new management of Williams.

According to him, their vision is sustainable, and this is what could lead to them making a leap through the standings in the near future. He said, “Behind the scenes, it’s very promising. I’m very confident the team won’t be at the back of the grid from 2022 onwards. The new owners have brought stability, money, a good management structure. The focus in the past few years shifted from optimizing performance towards saving the business.”

The Brit feels the added stability will help the team in being more relaxed. He said, “The stability is going to be there for years to come. The financial backing, and new brands and partners will come on board. These are all core values for any business to expand, push forward and succeed.”

How do Williams improve?

This is a tough question as they will need to make a lot of changes outside of bringing in better management. The added job security is great in the short term, but the team will need to change the way it functions. They could look at the example of McLaren in learning how to come back.

Right now, the team functions like an old-school F1 team as they look to construct all their parts, barring the power unit. In modern-day F1, that is unsustainable and could explain their financial problems.

Thus, the added investment will help in this respect and they should look to outsource various parts which can be legally sourced from their engine supplier.

Another solution would be to look for technical talent outside F1. That will provide a fresher perspective in terms of how they approach car design. These two suggestions would go a long way towards seeing the team improve exponentially.

In the end, Williams is iconic for a reason. And if it’s not doing well, could spell the death-knell of independent teams in F1.

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