Williams must "get the chequebook out" to recreate McLaren resurgence

Williams

Williams must "get the chequebook out" to recreate McLaren resurgence

McLaren CEO Zak Brown believes Williams can compete again with money behind it

Ewan Gale

Thursday 4 February 2021 07:59

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Williams will have to "get the chequebook out" in order to stage a similar resurgence to McLaren, according to CEO Zak Brown.

Brown's McLaren team has seen its own resurgence over the past two seasons as it has finally broken free of a torrid stint in the turbo-hybrid era with Honda to finish third in the constructors' championship last year, its best placing since 2012.

Williams, meanwhile, has suffered a role reversal over the past few years as it started the V6 era as one of Mercedes' nearest rivals to suffering its worst campaign last term as it failed to score a single point.

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When asked if Williams had the means to replicate McLaren's arc, Brown said: “I think there is no reason why they can’t, but they will need to continue to invest in the team.

"It looks to me like they don’t have the same level of revenue coming in that we had.

“As we know, in Formula 1, it takes money to go fast so they just need to get the chequebook out. I think they are a great racing team. They’re going to need to invest, the new investors, a lot of money."

Williams was taken over by US investment company Dorilton Capital in September last season after the family walked away from the sport.

Brown, though, feels he saw signs of progress last year that indicate with the right resources and management, the team is on track to return to more competitive ways.

“They are behind in revenue from finishing 10th in the championship and they don’t appear to have much sponsorship," suggested Brown.

"I think they have the people, the know-how, the skill, they just need the resources which they lack. So it will take some time but I think they made a big step last year.

"While they didn’t score a point, they were certainly in a position to score a couple of times."