Williams warns F1: ‘We could close down’

Williams’ deputy team principal Claire Williams has cast doubt on the future of the team if Formula 1 bosses fail to introduce a budget cap in 2021.

Following a meeting on the future of the sport in Bahrain, Williams strongly welcomed the idea of a budget cap to help them compete with likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull at the very top of the grid.

But not all teams are happy with the proposed changes laid out by Liberty and the FIA and Williams has warned that it could spell the end of the iconic team if an agreement on budgets cannot be reached.

“If I look at it from my perspective, if we don’t do this, then Williams will close, the whole of the company,” Williams told racefans.net.

“[In Bahrain] I was very positive about it, but then there are some of the people that are very negative about it.

“We are lucky that this works for us, but it think it probably demonstrates the fact that our team, track performance aside, is a good model of how a Formula One team should be operating in our sport.”

A budget cap would likely mean job losses at teams with huge resources at their disposal, but Williams thinks it is a move that is necessary for the greater good of the sport.

“It pains me to say, but sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture for the sake of the sport,” she added.

“I don’t know the exact numbers and yes, of course it’s going to be difficult for teams to restructure and reorganise, and yes, of course the thought of anybody losing their job as a result is not something we welcome in any way, shape or form.”