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Williams: F1 facing 'scary' situation if all 2020 races are cancelled

Published on 08 May 2020 09:18
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By: Fergal Walsh

Claire Williams says Formula 1 is facing a scary situation of losing a handful of teams if racing doesn't get underway in 2020.

The start of the 2020 season has been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, however F1 recently revealed a plan to get proceedings underway in Austria in just under two months' time.

Zak Brown recently stated that F1 could lose up to four teams due to the financial fallout caused by COVID-19, with Williams mirroring his words, labelling it as a “scary” prospect.

"It is scary that we could lose not just one or two teams, but an awful lot of teams if we don't get back racing," Williams told Sky F1.

"The financial model that we have in our sport means that we are all so reliant upon the money that we receive from the results that we get in the constructors' championship.

"You take that away, and coupled with the fact that sponsorship isn't at the level that it is in Formula 1 at the moment and in sports in general, that makes trying to find a budget to go racing really incredibly difficult."

Safety of team personnel will be Williams' priority

It is not the first time that Williams has voiced her concerns over the future of F1, as she says that going to races this year is critical for the survival of her team.

Despite the concerns, Williams affirms that the safety of team personnel will take priority when deciding on how to handle upcoming events.

"You have to weigh up the need to go back racing in order to ensure sure your team's survival against the very important reality of ensuring your people remain safe," Williams said.

“For me, at the end of the day, my people are always going to win out. I certainly hope that doesn't cost us our team, but the safety of our people, whether that be returning them to work at Grove or asking them to travel, is going to be absolutely paramount.

"We will certainly not be sending people back racing until it is appropriate to do so. I know that the work F1 are doing, they've been putting an awful lot of time an energy into this to see what they can do in order to take us back racing and to do that safely.

On Thursday, Liberty Media reported an 84% loss in revenue compared to 2019 during the first quarter of the year.

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Replies (6)

essaouira311

Posts: 158
Oh, Claire... I couldn't expect anything more optimistic from you.

You have always been beholden to your fears (that's why the great Williams team is slowly dying...).
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- May 8 2020 - 10:55
siggy74

Posts: 194
Advanced division, was rumored to be up for sale last year ;p

Take out the profit from Advanced, followed by the crash in F1 revenue..... will be joining a long list of company's fighting to survive..

Nothing like dreaming those fears to come true... sad state.
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- May 8 2020 - 12:09
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  It was more than just rumoured to, it Was sold. They sold it to EMK Capital last year.
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  May 8 2020 - 18:10
calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
They already are. This situation is getting scary to terrifying for all involved, teams and fans alike.
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- May 8 2020 - 18:11
f1ski

Posts: 726
I am here in the states. There is a lot of anxiety as things are reopening. The at risk managers and engineers can work in isolation the teams can start again at races without fans trackside.
The teams need to put there to let the fans who watch each and every week watch again . Looking at the science this virus in an opportunistic predator test and race have the teams make the adjustments in logistics and let’s move on. Racing is dangerous . In the world as it is now making travel plans for each race would be easy. How many hotels are empty. 1 hotel per team. I won’t go on but operating at 10% higher day to day costs to me could be made to work advertisers are dying to get more for their money. Let’s take the Swedish approach.
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- May 9 2020 - 01:05
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  The vast majority of sporting events here are closed though, so our approach wouldn't help here. At any rate, there are a lot.. A LOT.. of people trackside, even without fans. Team members, marshalls, admins, technical staff, guards, and so on. It'd be paradise for anything viral.
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  May 9 2020 - 08:34