Paddy Lowe to Leave the Williams F1 Team Immediately

It is no secret that the RoKit Williams F1 team have been struggling to get away from the back of the grid. In all honesty, it is painful to see a once great team, who were champions no less, scrounge at the back of the grid.

Now, things have got even worse for Williams F1 as Paddy Lowe will officially leave the team after a leave of absence for four months. In addition to that, Lowe will be stepping down from the board of directors “with immediate effect”.

So far in 2019, the Williams F1 team have endured a trying pre-season, which was made worse when the season began. First and foremost, the Williams F1 team missed their shakedown and the opening two days of testing, courtesy delays to the new car’s production. In the wake of that debacle, The Williams F1 team announced that Lowe would be taking a leave of absence for personal reasons.

Ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, the Williams F1 team languish at the bottom of the constructors’ championship, point-less. Now, Lowe’s departure has been confirmed in a statement.

“After a period of careful reflection I have reached the decision that I will not return to work at Williams,” said Lowe.

“I wish all my previous colleagues the very best to meet the challenges ahead, which I am sure they will do. I would especially like to thank the Williams fans who are so supportive.”

Prior to joining Williams, Paddy Lowe enjoyed a good stint with the ever dominant Mercedes team. His first tryst with Formula One was with Williams from 1987 to 1993. Following that, he moved to McLaren where he remained with the side for two decades until 2013. Finally, he was appointed the executive Director of Mercedes in 2013 and stayed there until 2017. Since then, he had been back with the Williams F1 team, who are now a shadow of their former selves.

Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams said: “We understand and respect the decision Paddy has reached and wish him well for the future.”