The arrival of Dorilton Capital was a great financial relief for Williams Racing, although it meant the departure of the founding family. Now, Jost Capito is leading the restructuring, which will include new drivers.
Although nothing is official yet, it is more than likely that Williams will completely renew its driver lineup by 2022. George Russell has one foot in Mercedes as a substitute for Valtteri Bottas and Nicholas latifi he could direct his steps towards IndyCar, since the priorities in the team have changed.
And it is that Latifi inherited the role of pilots such as Pastor Maldonado or Lance Stroll, which consisted largely of providing strong sponsorship to sustain Williams’ finances.
Now that role is played by Dorilton Capital, so Williams can start thinking about building the best possible driver pair from a sporting point of view. “I think that at Williams we are in the position of no longer depending on a driver who brings money, as in the past”, says Jost Capito.
The pilots want to go to Williams
The CEO of Williams Racing says that by 2022 the only priority will be to get the best possible drivers without thinking about the money they are able to attract to the team. “We have a long-term plan to get back to the top and we have to choose the drivers who fit into that plan.. We are only thinking about this. Of course everyone can talk to us, but the decision is ours.
“I think all the drivers who don’t have a fixed seat for next year, or have an option for next year, are talking to us right now. Right now, it’s the most desired free seat in Formula 1 »says the German engineer.
In recent weeks, two names have been heavily linked to Williams: Valtteri Bottas and Nyck de Vries. Both are starting drivers for Mercedes at the moment (in Formula 1 and Formula E respectively), but the German brand has strong technical ties with Williams and if the Grove line-up so wishes it would not be a problem.
Even Toto Wolff himself recently stated that, if he did not continue in Mercedes F1, he would personally take care of look for a good future for the Finn.