Villeneuve: Stroll's Force India lifeline a "nail in the coffin" for Williams

Jacques Villeneuve believes that the agreement between Force India and Lawrence Stroll (backed by a consortium) signals the “final nail in Williams’ coffin” with the takeover likely to result in the loss of backing from Stroll.

With Lawrence Stroll helping to save Force India, it is more than likely that son Lance will be making the jump from Williams to the team in the near future, taking their money with them.

A huge loss to Williams will also be the loss of their Martini sponsorship in 2019 also, both coming at the worst time for the team as they continue to struggle at the back of the grid.

A former world champion with the team, Villeneuve believes that this latest setback could be one step too far for the iconic team.

“The loss not only of Lawrence, but also the sponsor (Martini) is probably the final nail in the coffin,” Villeneuve told Le Journal de Montreal.

“They’ll then lose a lot of TV rights because they’ll be at the bottom of the championship. Even pay drivers won’t want to spend money there.

“Force India is a better organisation than Williams. They only stopped developing this year because they can’t afford it.

“Lawrence has always made brands grow. It’s one of his strengths. He couldn’t do it at Williams because he was not the owner, but his influence will be greater at Force India.

“He will help them. Force India remained a racing team, unlike Williams.”

Villeneuve also noted that it would be a great move for Lance Stroll to move to Force India as soon as the takeover bid is complete to get a jump on preparations with his new team. Where that would leave Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez however is still questionable.

“Lance should finish the season at Force India. He should not wait. He should drive in Belgium at the end of the month.

“The car is better and he would be able to get a head start on next year, and improve his driving style with Force India’s engineers.”