These two reasons were behind the sale of Williams to Dorilton

Last spring, Williams became the first Formula One team to be wholly owned by an investment firm, Dorilton Capital. In an interview, Claire Williams now gives an insight into the frustration and reasoning behind the sale of the team in 2020.

In an interview with the New York Times, Williams explains her and her father's decision to sell the family business to investor group Dorilton Capital in May 2020. Williams states: “When Coronavirus hit there was the bigger picture to think about, how we were going to go racing again and keep our business afloat during lockdown. It was like, ‘Right, we’re really scraping about here on what we’ve got.’ Then the decision came that we had to seek investment or sell. We didn’t have a choice. We’d literally done everything.”

Dual reasoning

Williams explains that the reasoning behind selling the former family business was twofold. The first reason, she argues, had to do with the job retention of everyone who worked for the team. Williams explains: “The first was saving the team. When I say saving the team, I mean ensuring the people had the security of their job, that the team existed or survived for their benefit.”

The second reason concerns Frank Williams, father of Claire and co-founder of the team. “I wanted to make sure my dad came out of it with money to show for his work, not that he would have cared”, Williams argues. “My dad’s never taken a penny out of the team over the years. I wanted to ensure he had something to show for his legacy. That was really important to me as well. I felt that quite keenly considering the position the team had been in for many years.”