Williams In Buyout Talks?

[Monty 0]

GMM) Believe it or not, Grove based Williams - one of F1's most successful ever grand prix teams - is reportedly in buyout talks with a Korean consortium.

Former BAR principal David Richards, and Korean multinationals Hyundai and Samsung, are thought involved.

Richards, also Prodrive boss and world rally impresario, told F1 Racing magazine: ''I haven't spoken to Frank (Williams) or Patrick (Head), but I'm keeping a close watch.''

And what about Hyundai?

''Possibly -- I've no idea.''

source f1central

[SchumiDeSuck 0]

GMM) Believe it or not, Grove based Williams - one of F1's most successful ever grand prix teams - is reportedly in buyout talks with a Korean consortium.

Former BAR principal David Richards, and Korean multinationals Hyundai and Samsung, are thought involved.

Richards, also Prodrive boss and world rally impresario, told F1 Racing magazine: ''I haven't spoken to Frank (Williams) or Patrick (Head), but I'm keeping a close watch.''

And what about Hyundai?

''Possibly -- I've no idea.''

source f1central

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In F1, I think nothing is impossible. Time will tell.

[JayStorm 0]

Exactly, It shall be very interesting to see how it all pans out, if this is the case, it shall be very disapointing to see the end of the Williams team in Formula 1.

JS.

[Null 0]

What?! Dave should get back to his ideas about buying jordan, leave Williams be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Taku 0]

What?!  Dave should get back to his ideas about buying jordan, leave Williams be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

that would be quite a coup if he pulled it off, but i think the suggestion is way out of leftfield, with the interviewer merely stroking richards' massive ego.

[nojvnof1 0]

that's the last thing he needs

[Kay 0]

The article actually doesn't say anything...

DR says: ''I haven't spoken to Frank (Williams) or Patrick (Head), but I'm keeping a close watch.''

Most people here could say the same!!!!

DR says: ''Possibly -- I've no idea.''

And look again...anyone can say that.

[Fed up 0]

that would be quite a coup if he pulled it off, but i think the suggestion is way out of leftfield, with the interviewer merely stroking richards' massive ego.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree

[Buttonfan 0]

This is another time I would also have to agree with Taku

[stefmeister 0]

I don't care much for seeing David Ricahrd back in F1 again, I think he's a vindictive jackass. I think that for what he did with Jaques Villeneuve at BAR, when he took over at BAR he made it his personal mission to destroy JV's character. JV had always been well respected in the F1 pitlane & no one had a bad work to say against him. As soon as DR comes along he from day 1 does everything possible to try & get JV out of BAR & out of F1.

Suddenly the press, the public & the teams all thought nothing for JV & basically told him they no longer had any respect for him & it was all down to comments DR said about him midway though 2002. The way DR treated JV was disgusting & was the main reason Honda booted him out of BAR, all the Honda guys had huge respect for JV & were extremely unhappy when he was booted out of BAR. The way he did it was disgusting he told JV he was safe for 2004, signed Sato in June of 2003 & waited untill all the top seats were gone before kicking JV out the team after USA 2003. Peter Sauber has since said had he known a week sooner JV was free for 2004 he would have put him alongside Fisichella instead of Massa. Then throughout 2004 DR continued to slag off JV about how he was bitter & didn't give a damn about BAR & didn't even follow F1 anymore, all these comments were later proved incorrect by JV's friends within BAR who said JV had phoned & congratulated the team with there success in 2004 & he had even contacted Button to congratulate him on his 1st podium's & pole position.

Many within F1 (Button included) believe that a lot of the controvercy between Button/Villeneuve at the start of 2003 was caused & made to look bigger than it was by David Ricahrds as a way of Making Villeneuve look bad by making it look lik ehe coudn't get on with his team mate. The only thing JV ever said about Button in 2003 was that he hadn't done anything to prove himself to be a top guy, which at the time was true, Button had no pole's or Podiums or wins Etc... Part of the reason Button wanted out of BAR was that he didn't trust David Richards after the whole Villeneuve situation, no one in BAR trusted him not even HOnda so they got rid of him.

If David Ricahrds takes over at Williams, whats to say he will not take a dislike to Webber or Patrick Head or other engineer's. DR took over Benetton in 1998 was unhappy with the results so quit the team & left them is a complete mess as he had fired several key personnel which seriously crippled the team for 1999. DR is a goo rally guy but when it comes to F1 he just isn't as good. He took credit for BAR's 2004 success but everything that made BAR so good was put there by Craig Pollock, it was Craig Pollock who signed Michelin, Geoff Willis, Honda & who had even contacted Button about the possibility of joining the team. Richards did nothing but took the credit for everything. He's a jackass & should stay well away from F1.

[Buttonfan 0]

very good and interesting post there stefmeister

[nojvnof1 0]

stefmeister, BRILLIANT POST!!!

[Fed up 0]

When DR took over at BAR one of his first objectives was to reduce costs as the team had been over paying and underachieving.

JV was being paid $18m per year - DR asked him to take a one year sabatical followed by a two year contract of $9m - He was effectively saying by the time JV returned from his sabatical he would have a competitive car to re-establish his reputation - JV turned it down and the rest is history.

"Already aware that there his role within the team was being undermined, the arrival of Button was the further bad news for Jacques, who felt he was slowly losing his team.

Sadly, Jacques reacted in the worst possible way, launching a string of verbal attacks on Button, who to be fair hit back whenever he got the opportunity.

Although Jacques had dismissed Button as a 'boy band', as the season progressed, and Button performed, the Canadian's attitude gradually changed."

[Fed up 0]

The decision to sign with BAR for vast sums of money was a good idea financially but a disaster on the track as Jacques only finished three races in 1999, and the team didn't score a single point. However things looked up for BAR and Villeneuve with the news that they had signed Honda Engines for 2000.

The 2000 and 2001 were a bit of a rebirth for Jacques as he and BAR moved from being backmarkers to being respectable, this newfound respectability saw BAR finish fifth in the constructors championship, Jacques was seventh in the drivers table with 17 points, this included four fourth place finishes, but no podiums. 2001 however saw BAR slip to sixth, with Jacques only scoring 12 points, however this included podiums in Spain and Germany. Despite the podiums, BAR were unimpressed with the lack of progress and team principle and Villeneuve's agent Craig Pollock was sacked in favour of Hard-nosed David Richards, who immediately clashed with the egotistical Villeneve.

These tensions were disastrous for the team as they only managed 7 points in 2002 and slipped to eigth in the Constructors table. This fall saw driver Olivier Panis get sacked and some serious questions get raised about Jacques Motivation. Richards hired Jenson Button for 2003, an obvious favourite of Richards's, which didn't help things. Richards and Villeneuve engaged in a high profile war of words that lasted the length of the 2003 season which saw Jacques get badly outpaced by Button and had killed the spirits of the aggressive former champ. After the USGP that year Richards announced he had signed Takuma Sato for 2004, prompting Jacques to quit right away saying that he wasn't going to risk his life for Richards in the final race.

Jacques was a broken man, a Formula One outcast and it looked like the end of the road for Jacques in Formula One as he desperately tried to ink a ride for 2005, with Williams in particular. However he went from having no job to having two by virtue of a Ride in a Renault for the last three races of 2004 and a two year contract with Sauber starting in 2005. 2004 was a culture shock for Villeneuve as he failed to score points in the last three races with Renault as he couldn't adapt to the race pace of F1 that was three seconds a lap faster than the previous season. He went to Sauber a bit bewildered but optimistic.

Formula 1 data base

[nojvnof1 0]

"The decision to sign with BAR for vast sums of money was a good idea financially but a disaster on the track"

well that's pretty obvious in hindsight.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

I see that the JV analysis-banter never ends. You're all just kidding yourselves. We all know the basic story is, in 1999 BAR were a bunch of c##ky idiots, JV included, who should have known better. They failed miserably, JV was a lot better than Zonta, not difficult, then matched by Panis and overshadowed by Button who was improving all the time. Pollock doesnt deserve credit for anything, he's an arsehole. DR set the basis for a top team, it can still be a top team without him but its not like he held BAR back at all. I remember quite well that the BAR team were on the whole very happy to see JV leave, he is and always has been a miserable sod who doesnt do any thing to motivate his workforce. And to say that JV/Pollock can take credit for 2004 success just makes me laugh. I think the 1 person who should be praised more than anyone is GEOFF WILLIS for designing the brilliant 03/04/05 cars

[nojvnof1 0]

"Pollock doesnt deserve credit for anything, he's an arsehole."

that's a great argument you have there You say the man who should be praised is Geoff Willis, and you're right, he should, but take a guess as to who signed him up, and it wasn't Richards. Pollock also was reponsible for bringing Honda and instigating talks with Michelin. But I'm sure you considered all that prior to the above statement. JV can take credit for part of the 2004 car, his feedback, along with that of JB and the testers helped create that car, whilst Honda came out publically in support of JV's feedback, stating how much it was missed.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

I admit my arguments aren't exactly something out of a historians' magazine, but hey I guess I'm probably just not as educated as you. I don't really think it matters who should take credit for 2004, the person who gets all the trophies are the drivers (or rather driver). I don't agree that pollock deserves credit for willis' talent. he made a complete balls-up of 1999-2002 I think!! And I think that is also the rest of the world's general perception of him. Lets talk about the williams buyout! I hope it doesnt happen

[nojvnof1 0]

Of course I'm not giving CP credit for Willis' talent, I'm giving him credit for spotting it and signing him up.