Dorilton Capital Chairman Matthew Savage revealed that the group had considered running Williams as a B-team in Formula 1 following its takeover.
Following years of dominating the sport in the 1980s and 90s, Williams seemingly slipped into a slump in the 2000s and 2010s.
Carlos Sainz’s podium at Baku last month was the British marque’s first podium in proper Grand Prix running since the 2017 season.
While this resurgence has been a welcome change, it has been in the making since Dorilton Capital took over the reins of the team from the Williams family in 2020.
Savage, who leads the Private Investment Fund, revealed that upon acquiring the team, the new owners contemplated many different approaches to running the team.
One such “fallback”, as Savage described it, was adopting a “Haas-type model” – relegating itself to a customer team, relying completely on suppliers for spare parts.
They opted out of it, as the team valuations showed a steep incline. Even then, Dorilton could have turned the team around for a handsome payout.
“We could have made a nice turn if I wanted to flip it,” Savage told The Athletic.
“But I just felt that there was much more to go at that point.
“I know that there’s a midfield team that received an offer in the low $2billions. I think that’s the floor now.”
Williams committed to returning to F1’s top step
After seeing the strides made forward since 2023, Savage is now committed to seeing the Grove-based squad reach further heights.
Going into the final four races of the season, Williams holds a commanding lead over its rivals in fifth, leading the midfield for the first time in almost a decade.
The American also commented on how the team is now in the position to make bigger hires and build a competitive squad, something James Vowles started with Sainz’s signature.
“You start to see the results, and then you start to see belief,” he added.
“It’s like a flywheel. Once it gets going, hopefully it just keeps going.
“In a funny way, I’d like us just to focus on what we’re doing and take the next step and improve everywhere, and keep on going.”
Savage went on to detail the long-term aspirations for Williams, including podiums, race wins and championships.
“I think in five years, we hope to be competitive for podiums and we hope to be competitive for the championship,” asserted Savage.
“The goal is still the same. We’d like to win a whole Concorde Agreement (of championships, typically a five-year period of the CA legal rules that keep F1 teams bound to race), not just one season. That’s the objective.”
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