Williams F1 deputy team principal Claire Williams recently opened up on how the financial crisis was affecting the team. Claire believes the situation is ‘critical’ and added that the sport has to go racing at some point this season. Williams and several other F1 teams are in the midst of a financial crisis due to the havoc wreaked by Coronavirus on the 2020 calendar.

Can Williams survive the financial crisis?

F1 is yet to racing in 2020 and is already down 9 races. However, the sport could postpone 2 more races in France and Belgium due to the ongoing epidemic. If teams don’t race, they lose out on major sponsorship money. According to their contractual obligations, teams must compete in a race to receive payments from sponsors. By not racing, teams face a financial crunch which directly affects car development and future running once the season begins.

Williams and Haas are two teams whose future existence in the sport is under jeopardy. Both teams had a disastrous campaign in 2019 and need results this year to provide a sense of direction regarding future involvement in F1. Recently, Williams sold one of its engineering divisions as part of a refinancing plan to continue in the sport.

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F1 has the responsibility of making two major decisions that have permanent consequences on the smaller F1 teams. First, figuring out the perfect budget cap that keeps the bigger teams happy and lets the smaller teams survive. And more importantly, solving the calendar crisis to ensure the smaller teams get the necessary funding.

Claire opens up on the current situation

Claire highlighted the gravity of the situation and opened up on the financial crunch. Speaking to Sky Sports, Williams said:

“That is why we have spent so much time locked away in so many team principals’ meetings to do everything we need, to make sure all of us come out of this, at the end of this year, unscathed.

“For a team like ours – one of the few true independents left. We don’t have the backing the majority of our competitors have.

“For us, going racing is actually critical this year, but as I have said, only when it’s safe to do so.”

“We have spent so much time locked away in so many team principals’ meetings to do everything we need, to make sure all of us come out of this, at the end of this year, unscathed,” Williams concluded.