Criticism of Claire: ''Family leaves, but spirit to win was already gone''

The Italian Grand Prix is the last Grand Prix in which the Williams family was actually present on the circuit. Claire and Frank Williams resigned, but according to Joe Saward the Williams spirit had long since disappeared.

The takeover of Dorilton Capital has been around for some time, but last week Claire Williams announced that she would resign as team boss. In addition, the whole Williams family will also be leaving the team. The name will remain on the facade, but the legendary F1 family is leaving the sport.

Williams actually left a long time ago

''The family is leaving, but to be honest, the Williams spirit to win has long since disappeared from the team. I would say about five years ago. It is to the credit of Frank Williams, Virginia Williams and Patrick Head that Williams has become so great. I'm not saying Claire did everything wrong, but she made a lot of wrong decisions,'' Joe Saward says in the podcast Missed Apex.

The Formula 1 journalist gives the current state of affairs as an example. ''Williams went from a factory team at the top to a Mercedes customer in the rear. How can you drive a Mercedes engine in the rear? There is a reason why they are there. It's good that Claire has taken on the task of team boss, but the team is no longer what it used to be'', Saward concludes.