Breaking news
Formula 1
Williams owners "not hiding" despite low profile - Roberts
Simon Roberts says new Williams Formula 1 team owner Dorilton Capital is “not hiding” and “in it for the long haul” to turn the backmarker’s fortunes around.
Luke Smith
Published: Oct 3, 2020, 8:00 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
New York-based investment fund Dorilton Capital completed a full takeover of the Williams company in August following a strategic review undertaken by the team that led to its sale.
The buy-out was followed by the exit of the Williams family, including founder Sir Frank Williams and his daughter, Claire, who handled the day-to-day running of the F1 team.
Roberts was appointed as acting team principal ahead of last month’s Tuscan Grand Prix, having joined Williams earlier this year as its F1 managing director.
Figures from Dorilton were on the ground at Mugello to meet with the team members for the first time, but are yet to make any public appearances or conduct any interviews since the takeover.
“[Dorilton chairman] Matthew Savage was in Mugello, he joined the team,” Roberts said when asked by Motorsport.com about Dorilton’s low profile to date.
“He brought one of his other board members and one of his senior chief of staff. So, they were there.
“They weren’t doing interviews but that was their first foray into Formula 1, and I expect we will see them in the future. They are not hiding.”
Read Also:
- What Williams' sad day says about the team's future
- Dorilton wanted Claire Williams to remain involved with F1 team
Dorilton’s takeover of Williams comes at a time when the team has been rooted to the back of the F1 field for close to three years, failing to score any points since July 2019.
While the initial challenge for the new owner is to get to grips with Williams’ day-to-day running and get up to speed with F1, Roberts took confidence from the initial vision that has been outlined for the team’s long-term future.
“They’re just trying to right now understand everything they can about the business,” Robert said of Dorilton.
“They’re super-smart and really nice and easy people to work with, so it’s great having them around.
“They just come and get involved in everything they can. They obviously were in Mugello, which was great for them and we’re just in that budget setting, looking at investment plans, trying to figure out effectively what’s the first thing to do.
“We don’t want to make mistakes, but everything we do is focused on improving our performance in the long-term.
“There’s no quick fix here. We’re in it for the long haul, and so are Dorilton.”
Robert has only been appointed as Williams’ team principal on an interim basis, but said he is yet to discuss taking on the job full-time with Dorilton.
“It’s something we haven’t really focused on, to be honest,” Roberts said. “The whole sale process happened much faster than any of us expected and then Claire made her decision, which was a shock to all of us.
“The most important thing was to retain continuity. I’m really, really pleased to be asked to step-up, I really enjoy it and hopefully I can continue to do it for longer.
“But we haven’t even discussed it. It’s not the top of my list, and it’s not the top of theirs.
“There’s plenty of work to be done and we’re all focussed on that and focused on moving the team forwards.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Renault willing to supply F1 engines to Red Bull in 2022
Next article Horner would like to have seen what da Costa could do in F1
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Luke Smith
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
Formula 1
Formula 1
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Formula 1
Formula 1
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Formula 1
Formula 1
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
More from
Williams
Franco Colapinto, George Russell to sit out FP1 at F1 Mexico GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Franco Colapinto, George Russell to sit out FP1 at F1 Mexico GP
Fernando Alonso blasts driving standards of bottom half of F1 grid
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Fernando Alonso blasts driving standards of bottom half of F1 grid
Latest news
Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels and the Hendrick 5 are who we say they are
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
1 min
Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels and the Hendrick 5 are who we say they are
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
4 h
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
4 h
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
4 h
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
Feature
Discover prime content
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Formula 1
By Pat Symonds
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe