Williams "negative spiral" should have prompted earlier sale - Lowe

Former Williams chief technical officer Paddy Lowe has suggested the team 'should have been sold earlier' due to a "very negative spiral" in funding.

Lowe joined the team whilst it was a frontrunner with Mercedes engines before its fortunes began to unravel during his tenure.

With Williams having scored just eight points since 2018, Lowe told the Beyond the Grid podcast the sale of the team from the Williams family to Dorilton Capital last season should have come to pass sooner.

Asked for his reaction to the sale, Lowe responded: “I was pleased because that’s what they’ve needed to do for a long time.

"To be honest it should have been done earlier for all sorts of reasons which are not to do with any individuals.

“The team has been in a very negative spiral from a funding point of view. While I was there, I was watching that spiral progress further down the drain.

"It’s actually quite distressing because you understand there’s no good endpoint apart from a sale, so you may as well cut that now and move on before it’s all gone."

Dorilton's acquisition of the team brought an end to the Williams family's 43-year association with F1.

Lowe pointed to the contribution of the family as a reason he was pleased to see the sale become a reality.

“I’m very happy that the team was sold for a reasonable price so that Claire and her brothers leave with something to work with from the great things her family has achieved over the years," he added.

"The name is kept and they’ve got new investors who will have the cash to take it forward and turn that spiral in the other direction, which will be a long process."

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