Claire Williams issues new statement after F1 return steps up with British GP appearance
Former Williams F1 boss Claire Williams pictured in a press conference in 2019
Claire Williams has thanked the Williams team and Formula 1 following her surprise return to the F1 paddock at the British Grand Prix.
As reported by PlanetF1.com, Ms Williams joined Channel 4 as a pundit for the station’s live television coverage of the British Grand Prix earlier this month.
Claire Williams reflects on F1 paddock return at British Grand Prix
Her appearance at Silverstone marked the latest step in her return to F1 activities following the sale of the Williams team to Dorilton Capital in 2020.
Ms Williams has appeared as a talking head in the last two seasons of Drive to Survive, the hit Netflix F1 docuseries.
PlanetF1.com also reported in March that the 48-year-old had joined Santander, a sponsor of the Williams team, as an F1 ambassador.
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Ms Williams reflected on her trip to the British Grand Prix by posting a series of images on social media on Thursday.
The photographs showed her posing with former Williams driver and 1992 World Champion Nigel Mansell, with Ms Williams also visiting the garage of her former team and watching the race from the Williams hospitality unit in the paddock.
In the accompanying caption, she wrote: “Even after a week or so, I’m still loving the weekend we had at Silverstone, but this has to be one of my favourite moments.
“Seeing the wonderful Nigel Mansell who is just brilliant and really sums up so much of what Williams is about for me.
“So many other lovely moments too – seeing some of my old crew from the Williams race team, where I used to sit in the garage during the sessions and meeting Vicki Butler Henderson, who I’ve admired from afar for years, on stage at the Fusion Lounge.”
Prior to being appointed deputy team principal in 2013, Ms Williams served as a press officer for the Williams team, working closely with Nico Hulkenberg during his debut season in 2010, which saw him set pole position for that year’s Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.
Her return to the paddock coincided with Hulkenberg’s first-ever podium finish on his 239th start, with the Sauber driver finishing third behind McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
She added: “Congratulations to Nico Hulkenberg for his first podium.
“I used to be his press officer back in the day and was there with him for his pole in Brazil so being there for this just topped off the weekend.
“A big thank you to the Williams team and to F1 for looking after us so well.”
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In an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com last year, Ms Williams admitted that she has struggled to come to terms with life without F1 since selling the team.
She said: “I’ve taken a step back from the sport.
“I was in Formula 1 one way or another my whole life. Not being a part of that world is clearly going to be an enormous sadness to me.
“I’m not running Williams, so staying away from it is probably the healthiest thing for me to do.
“If I’m honest, it has been really tough. Williams has been my life and one minute it’s there, and one minute it’s not.
“Those race cars felt like a part of me. The team felt like an extension of my family and they’re not there anymore.
“I don’t get to see them each and every day. That has been really difficult to get used to.
“But when one door closes, another opens. That’s my philosophy when it comes to life.
“I’m very lucky – I have a lovely life, I have a wonderful husband, and I have a gorgeous little boy.
“I get to spend way more time with them now than I ever would have done if I was still in the sport.
“That’s a great privilege and a source of enormous joy for me.
“It’s not easy getting over Formula 1. It gets into your soul. It’s not easy to say goodbye to F1.”
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