The Williams F1 team is facing an extraordinary slump. They faced harsh criticisms early during the season when they took over Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin, two drivers known to have a plethora of funding to back them up. For reserve, they put in the much experienced and talented, Robert Kubica. More than the drivers, it was their car which caused them more than a few problems this season.

Former Mercedes Technical Director, Paddy Lowe, who’s now the Chief Technical Officer with Williams reflected on the poor season the team has had. Talking about the problems with the current machinery, he said, “We do not fully understand everything,”

It’s a pretty bold statement to say considering the massive budget and historical legacy which backs the Grove based team. Counted among the legends of the sport, its decline has been staggering. They are currently dead last in the championship with only 7 points won over the season. Lance Stroll took 6 points while Sergey Sirotkin has managed just a single point over the season.

He was hopeful 2019 will be a refresh for the team. “We can do it much better than we can, and the improvements will already be felt in the coming year,”

“The new rules are helping us, so we can make more difference.”

So much so have been their plight that the world has spoken for them.
“It’s confusing and disappointing to see the difficulty they have gone through,” David Coulthard told BBC Sport. “Success comes from the people, not the name on the door.

Felipe Massa, former driver at Williams, said that the team is suffering from prioritising money before talent. Lance Stroll, over the season has expressed his shock regarding the performance of the car he drives. He called out the team for being too slow with no performance what so ever.

“It was shocking how big of a step backwards we had made. I was four tenths slower than I was last year.”  he said post the Bahrain Grand Prix.

In Canada, Sirotkin went on to say that Williams’ was the slowest car on the grid.