Williams stresses importance of her mother in the team: "She was always there"

Last week's Tuscany Grand Prix was the first race in which the Williams team was no longer in the hands of the family of the same name. At Monza Claire and especially her father Frank were therefore widely honoured, but according to Claire most people forgot one person.

By this, she means her mother, Virginia Williams, who is known as 'Ginny' by people close to her. In the early years of the team, Frank was always looking for money and thanks in part to her financial contribution, the team kept its head above water. One of the things she sold for this purpose was her flat in London.

Williams' biggest fan

“A lot of people probably don’t knew the instrumental role my mum played in Williams,” said Claire to Formula1.com. “If it wasn’t for her money in the beginning, my dad would never have achieved his dream and this team wouldn’t have gone on to achieve what it did. She was always there behind the scenes."

"She always said she was Williams' biggest fan. She really was," Claire continued. Her mother died in 2013 at the age of 66 after a battle with cancer. Since then, the team has always worn Virginia's logo on the cars and there's always a picture of her in the pitbox.