ROKiT Williams Racing’s Claire Williams says that the team is taking its time to find the ‘right candidate’ to replace Paddy Lowe.
Williams have had little going for them in recent years as they sit last in the 2019 F1 championship with just the sole point. The hiring of Lowe from Mercedes was said to be a big catch, at a time when both the teams were going string.
It turned bad for the British outfit, however, as the results kept going down. So much so that Lowe – the team’s chief technical director, left the team for personal reasons, although there were whispers of under-performance being the main cause of his departure
The team has lost more personnel in recent times with no direct replacements. They brought in co-founder Patrick Head, though, as a consultant. As for a replacement for Lowe, Williams are on the hunt but add that they aren’t in a hurry.
“We are taking our time to make sure we find the right candidate,” said Williams to FormulaRapida.net/IndiaInF1.com. “We have a very competent technical management team in place at the moment – that are running the engineering side.
“From our chief aerodynamicist to our head of track operations and engineering and then the guy that runs the design office and they’re working really well. So, I’m very comfortable with the situation as it is at the moment.
“I want the team to take the time to make sure we get the right person in that fits properly into the team that we have.” There were rumours of Pat Fry joining Williams from McLaren after they roped in James Key from Toro Rosso but Fry is to join Renault instead.
No new name has been linked thus far for the role. When asked about Head’s involvement and his timeline to remain part of the team, Williams said that nothing is set in stone but added that he is helping the team members immensely with his experience.
Williams has one stable aspect, going into 2020, with George Russell firm to stay. They won’t have Robert Kubica though, who announced his departure during the Singapore GP weekend. Reserve driver Nicholas Latifi is in the front-seat to be signed on.
Here’s the story of Pat Fry joining Renault
F1 teams don’t see any red flag in signing F1 2021 Concorde Agreement
The story was co-written and edited by Darshan Chokhani