The beleaguered Williams outfit is “finally heading in the right direction” according to deputy team boss Claire Williams, who clarified its technical structure in the wake of Paddy Lowe’s exit.
Williams slipped to the back of the field through 2018 and this year was beset by problems with its recalcitrant FW42, which was not readied in time for the start of pre-season testing.
Williams has yet to score a point this season, has not remotely challenged for the top 10, and has been comfortably in the Q1 drop zone at each of the eight events held so far.
Lowe took a leave of absence after pre-season testing and earlier this week it was finally confirmed that he has relinquished all positions at the team.
“As you can all imagine, I can’t go into any detail about the situation with Paddy except to say that the situation is resolved and he has left the team, and we wish him well for the future,” said Williams.
“We’ve got to focus on the here and now, and the future, and that’s what we’re doing back at Grove in earnest.
“A lot of work is going on behind the scenes to make sure that we put Williams in the best possible position moving forward, from everyday moving forwards, not for 2020, not for 2021, but for right now.
“We have a very capable technical management team in place that have been working since Paddy’s leave of absence started back in March.”
Williams clarified that Chief Designer Doug McKiernan, Head of Design Adam Carter and Trackside Engineering Chief Dave Robson have been co-ordinating proceedings since Lowe’s leave of absence.
Williams added that she is “happy” with the current structure but is “looking at the options” in terms of finding a direct replacement for Lowe.
“I think as everybody has seen over the past few races, we’ve been able to bring new parts to the track, the majority of which have been adopted because they’ve shown greater levels of performance,” she said.
“We’re slowly closing that gap, and I think as everybody knows now, we’ve got more parts coming prior to shutdown that will hopefully bring greater performance to the car as well.
“We’re making good steps in the right direction, and that’s really nice to see. It’s been incredibly difficult for everybody at Williams over the last many, many months now, and it finally feels like we’re heading in the right direction again.
“There’s more of a spring in everybody’s step, so to speak.”
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