Williams' new owners 'do not have a magic wand' - acting team boss Roberts

Williams

Williams' new owners 'do not have a magic wand' - acting team boss Roberts

Dorilton Capital will see the team in action for the first time this weekend

Ian Parkes

Friday 11 September 2020 19:59 Updated: 20:51

Williams acting team principal Simon Roberts believes there will be no quick fix to the team's problems under new owners Dorilton Capital.

Roberts, who joined Williams in May as managing director, took charge of the team this week after Claire Williams opted to step down from her role as deputy team principal after the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.

This weekend the former McLaren stalwart will welcome Dorilton Capital chairman Matthew Savage and CEO Darren Fultz to Mugello for the Tuscan Grand Prix as they watch Williams in action for the first time.

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While the plans being put in place are considerable, Roberts has been surprised at what he has described as the "synergy" between the financial world and Formula 1, and how it might help the team going forward.

"They’ve been around in the factory for just over a couple of weeks now so I’ve spent quite a bit of time with them," said Roberts.

"And 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. Quite a lot of similarities, which I haven’t appreciated when you talk to them, about the competitiveness in the financial world, which is something I don’t really understand, and the translation in thinking and strategy and risk and stuff like that.

"All the things that we think we’re great at in Formula 1 they have quite an insight into. There’s quite a lot of synergy there.

"But it’s early days. We’re looking at what do we need to do, what’s the sequence, assuming to the 2021 cost cap, so we have got to be careful.

"Obviously, we operate under the cost cap, so we’ve got a bit more flexibility than other teams. We just want to do the right things and they’re talking really seriously about it."

Insisting it was a long-term project, Roberts added: "This isn’t a quick fix, you don’t just come in and wave your magic wand around.

"They’re really keen on working with us and establishing what are the right things to do. So very early days. We’ve just gotten the first plans in place."

Looking forward to showing Savage and Fultz how an F1 team operates over a race weekend, Roberts said: "It’ll be great.

"It’ll be the first time they’ve met the team. It’s just coming to see what we do, start becoming a part of what we do, no more than that."

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