[Team] Williams: Do they have a spare tub?

[Alan52]

So Vasseur to Ferrari and Seidel to Sauber/Audi.Sauber are definitely the winner out of that change.
It seems this is happening relatively quickly so McLaren are in a bit of a hole here.
Likely and capable replacement anyone?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Alan52

So Vasseur to Ferrari and Seidel to Sauber/Audi.Sauber are definitely the winner out of that change.
It seems this is happening relatively quickly so McLaren are in a bit of a hole here.
Likely and capable replacement anyone?

Has Seidel been confirmed at Sauber?

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Has Seidel been confirmed at Sauber?

Not confirmed - but being widely reported as a 'done deal'.

'The German will join Sauber in the role of CEO, in a move influenced by Audi's recent strategic buy-in to the team ahead of its 2026 entry into F1.'

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by Alan52

So Vasseur to Ferrari and Seidel to Sauber/Audi.Sauber are definitely the winner out of that change.
It seems this is happening relatively quickly so McLaren are in a bit of a hole here.
Likely and capable replacement anyone?

Have they poached Capito?

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by peebee2

Have they poached Capito?

Is he not retiring?

Dorilton Capital chairman Matthew Savage says the overhaul will make the next phase of a recovery plan for the team, with a new team principal and technical director to be announced in due course.

“We would like to thank Jost for his hard work and dedication as we embarked on a major transformation process to begin the journey of reviving Williams Racing,” Savage said. “We’re grateful that Jost postponed his planned retirement to take on this challenge and now he will pass the reins on for the next part of this staged process.

“We would also like to thank FX for his contribution and wish him all the best for his future as he moves on.”

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by peebee2

Have they poached Capito?

Not very likely bearing in mind Zak Brown turfed him out with a big payoff post Ron era... is all of this in preparation for sale of Williams to Porsche?

[peebee2]

You’re both quite possibly right, timing seems interesting though.

[V8 Fireworks]

Originally Posted by Alan52

So Vasseur to Ferrari and Seidel to Sauber/Audi.Sauber are definitely the winner out of that change.
It seems this is happening relatively quickly so McLaren are in a bit of a hole here.
Likely and capable replacement anyone?

Mattia Binotto would be an excellent signing for either McLaren or Williams.

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by V8 Fireworks

Mattia Binotto would be an excellent signing for either McLaren or Williams.

You’d expect he must have quite some gardening leave stipulated.

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by V8 Fireworks

Mattia Binotto would be an excellent signing for either McLaren or Williams.

Stella's beaten him to McLaren. No not the beer!

[AndreasDavour]

I wonder what the new owners of Williams think, long term. Ferrari have a history of upper management lashing out regularly and senselessly to let people go on a whim, stunting progress by not letting the organization settle in. Enzo himself started it, of course.


While Capito was heading for retirement anyway, did they let him draft a plan for technical directorship and would be allowed to fail before getting better? 2022 produced an inefficient car, but will they be allowed to build upon that?


I wonder if the owners know what they need to do, long term.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by AndreasDavour

I wonder what the new owners of Williams think, long term. Ferrari have a history of upper management lashing out regularly and senselessly to let people go on a whim, stunting progress by not letting the organization settle in. Enzo himself started it, of course.


While Capito was heading for retirement anyway, did they let him draft a plan for technical directorship and would be allowed to fail before getting better? 2022 produced an inefficient car, but will they be allowed to build upon that?


I wonder if the owners know what they need to do, long term.

Do just enough to keep the lights on, hope for a trade sale?

I was waiting for the headline "Capito Kaput" for some reason

While the credentialled technical director wasnt exactly thanked by the ownership group as he departed the scene either

[AndreasDavour]

If they are not waiting for an offer from Porsche, they need to start thinking. Do they want to be the English speaking Ferrari, where management ruins success?


Maybe they are waiting on Porsche.

[GTRMagic]

An interesting take

[AndreasDavour]

Interesting indeed. Stability and a long term plan is the only way to win in F1. Let's hope this is a move to clean house, and not just more musical chairs.

[Richard C]

Yes, that was interesting. I can imagine that for a team like Williams that might have a number of "this is just how it is done" aspects (Senna logo... which I support keeping... might be an example). That whoever breaks some of those "unbreakable" things may not be the same person to carry the team forward. Not saying he was breaking/changing the right things, but I can imagine the next guy might have a better time of it as it might be more about "putting things back together"??? In the end, I tend to think that Williams seemed to be moving forward. So the team was doing something right somewhere.

Richard

[billy bleach]

I find it odd that Andretti doesn't buy Williams what ever the price it must be a faster cheaper option

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

I find it odd that Andretti doesn't buy Williams what ever the price it must be a faster cheaper option

Maybe it's not for sale...

[Richard C]

I was thinking the other day, whoever might buy Williams will have a branding challenge. They are likely to want to rebrand, but who wants to pull the trigger on dropping the "Williams" name from the team?

The point being incurring the wraith of fans. It might be viewed as a short term problem, but would probably never be forgiven by many hard core fans.

I can't remember, but how upset were people when the Tyrrell name switched to BAR?

Richard

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

I find it odd that Andretti doesn't buy Williams what ever the price it must be a faster cheaper option

Andretti wants to be an F1 constructor/team in his own right and he can do that with the backing of GM.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

I can't remember, but how upset were people when the Tyrrell name switched to BAR?

It was a very sad occasion but I dont know who exactly noticed
Maybe it was the reason for piling on to criticism of the incredible (sic) BAR on-track performances..

Tyrrell always seemed to enjoy participating, even if competing at the very front was not really on their radar in the latter stages

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

It was a very sad occasion but I dont know who exactly noticed
Maybe it was the reason for piling on to criticism of the incredible (sic) BAR on-track performances..

Tyrrell always seemed to enjoy participating, even if competing at the very front was not really on their radar in the latter stages

And remember that they ran as Tyrrell for a season after the BAT takeover. Long enough for people to get used to the name changing.

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

I can't remember, but how upset were people when the Tyrrell name switched to BAR?

There was quite a lot of negativity about BAR taking over Tyrrell at the time, especially with the brashness of Pollock, Reynard and Gorne etc. But it didn't last long - mind you neither did BAR.

[andy97]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

And remember that they ran as Tyrrell for a season after the BAT takeover. Long enough for people to get used to the name changing.

Should have run as British American Tyrrell (BAT)

[Derwent]

It's probably just us oldies that would be upset. the Netflix generation and Americans would be happy with Andretti sadly.