Spare Parts (F1 odds and ends)

I'm pretty sure Spa regularly features in road races already. And quite possibly the Nurburgring.

 

Sir Frank and Claire have left the building .

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/54014306

 

After saying it was business as usual last weekend!

Can't say I'm surprised, but I thought it would take a bit longer for the new owners to decide on their leadership team.

 

unless they have people lined up . Still , another talking point

 

Bloody sad if you ask me....

 

Sad, very sad that the Williams family are stepping aside. I hope that who ever takes the reigns knows what they are doing and has some decent money to invest.
I wish the Williams family and the new owners the best of luck.

 

The end of an era in F1, the end of an old way of doing things. Frank could be a bit of a git but it still makes me feel a bit sad.

 

At least they have announced it before this weekends race. Hopefully Claire and Frank will be there (doubtful on health issues) and the C4 and SKY make some good pieces about tem and their history. Also gives the team opportunity to say goodbye. Thinking about it is almost bringing a tear to my eye.
It would be soooooo great if they could get a point or two to go out on a high.

 

Apparently they will step down after this weekends race .

whilst I am sad to see this happen , I can’t help but think that some intransigence/ arrogance / sheer bloody mindedness has brought the team to this stage . Yes though I find it sad .

 

Whilst it is sad to see an end of the era it is totally understandable. If I had just bought Williams I wouldn't want the current management team anywhere near the team, they have become experts in failure with no sign of digging their way out.

Williams won't improve short term, we can only hope they turn up with an improvement in 2022.

 

Whilst without this, I don't think they'd have turned up at all in 2022. It's a shame, if they'd just managed to hold on another year or so they might have stood a chance of competing without selling the team. That said, the bloat of Williams compared to other teams probably doesn't make them as well placed as others to take advantage. They need the change in management to get their house in order.

Number of employees in 2018:
Williams 630 ($150m budget)
Toro Rosso 460 ($150m)
Alfa 400 ($130m)
Racing Point 405 ($120m)
McLaren 760 ($220m)
Haas 250 ($150m)
Renault 625 ($190m)

What are Williams building that Alfa and Toro Rosso aren't, to justify an extra 200 employees? They build their own gearbox, but is there much else?

 

im not sure what they build , but this is my point about stubbornness .

 

Here's a video of their greatest achievement

 

The sport has changed....And not for the best. Bernie and Max encouraged the influx of manufacturers and big corporations at the expense of the independent team, mostly for the big bucks. Williams resisted becoming full on BMW years ago if my memory serves me. And rightly so IMO, as the team would have been cast to the history book years ago.

Independent teams are all but gone, innovation is scant, competition has been lousy, and there is very little soul left in F1. As Eddie put it, this is the end of an era. This team will mostly likely be sold to another soulless manufacturer by 2022 at the profit of the investment group.

Lets be honest. F1 is a sport that's losing it's history, losing it's entertainment, and losing it's fan base. Imagine how up in arms other sports would be if a giant was about to be snuffed out.

Apologies if that seems a bit dramatic, but sometimes F1 feels like a distant memory.

 

Renault to become Alpine in 2021

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/54047647

 

oh, back to it's F1 roots, I think very first F1 turbo engine was designed by Alpine iirc.

 

Did not know that

 

Sounds like an uphill struggle

 

you think they have a mountain to climb?

 

Or an avalanche of success?