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Claire Williams insists the team is not for sale amidst rumours

Claire Williams insists the team is not for sale amidst rumours

26-04-2019 13:46
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Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams has insisted the team is not for sale, despite the rumours of Dmitry Mazepin having interest in taking over the Grove-based outfit.

It's been another very tough year for Williams, who haven't been able to improve in 2019 after their historically low 2018 season. Drivers George Russell and Robert Kubica have always finished in the last two places of the cars that made the finish line, often being lapped twice in a race by the leaders.

Dmitry Mazepin, father of Formula 2 driver Nikolai, has been rumoured to have had talks with Williams about a potential take-over, but Claire Williams was quick to deny those rumours during the press conference in Baku.

"I saw those stories, I paid little attention to them," she said.

"I haven't met Mr Mazepin to talk about that. We had a brief conversation in the mid part of last year but subsequent to that there have been no conversations.

"I'd just like to be really categoric about it: Williams is not for sale, I have no intention of putting Williams up for sale. I don't see why we would."

Williams explained that selling at a low point like this wouldn't be a smart business decision either.

"We'd only investigate that opportunity if we were doing well. That's the right time to sell. Williams is in this sport and has been for more than four decades and we've never wanted to sell.

"This is what we do, we don't have anything else to do. So it's not on the market, I don't want to sell it to anybody, I want to go out and prove that we can do what we are in the sport to do, and that's to get back on the podium and win races again.

"That may take us a long time, but it took Frank more than 10 years to do it when he first started in this sport, and I'm sure that we'll have a lot more stuff thrown at us.

"But you don't give up when times get tough. It's a test of your character to continue and prove to everybody that you can do it."