Williams’ Acting Team Principal Simon Roberts says the team’s new owners, Dorilton Capital, are aware that turning the Grove-based squad’s fortunes around is a long-term project.
Williams last month announced the sale of the team to the US investment company following months of uncertainty regarding its future in Formula 1.
At the Tuscan Grand Prix last weekend, new board members attended the paddock for the first time, while Roberts took charge of running day-to-day activities following the resignation of the Williams family.
The Williams team has struggled at the back of the F1 grid over the last handful of years, but is now targeting a revival amid fresh investment.
“They’ve been around in the factory for a couple of weeks now, so I’ve spent quite a bit of time with them,” Roberts said.
“We’re looking at all of it, we’re reviewing everything. They’re really interested in what we do. This is all new to them, which is great.
“But it’s still early days, we’re looking at ‘What do we need to do? What’s the sequence?’ Assuming for the 2021 cost cap, so we’ve got to be careful.
“Obviously we operate under the cost cap so we’ve got a bit more flexibility. But we just want to do the right things and they’re talking really seriously about ‘This is long-term’.
“This isn’t a quick fix. They can’t just come in a wave a magic wand around. So they’re really keen on working with us and establishing the right thing to so.”
Roberts added that he has not discussed how long he will be in the team boss position but downplayed his prospects on a longer basis.
“We haven’t discussed it at all,” Roberts asserted. “I’ve met the new owners, they’re great, but that’s not really the focus.
“The focus is keeping stability within the team, working with everyone who’s here and just start to move it forward. That’s kind of secondary really, we haven’t discussed it at all.”
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