Page 9 - Nov 2022

With F1 Ambitions, PORSCHE SHALL NOT BE DETERRED

Breaking Up Is Not So Hard t o Do When Williams
Racing Wait ed in t he Wings

In the UK The Mirror first reported that it was with Red Bull would have been; but, Porsche is not
all over. Porsche AG had scarpered away from short of money. For several years, the boys from
its wooing of Red Bull Racing,but made clear its Stuttgart have had a quiet but persistent itch to be
intent of entering Formula 1 racing remained back in high stakes racing and the new public
intact; then, the company, just as nimbly as one attention and demographic brought to the sport by
of its mid-engine cars, took a breath and quickly Netflix's series about Formula 1 is also an appealing
connected with yet another team, this time from secondary reason to hop on the F1 train. Because
from Britian's storied racing past, Williams of the arcane rules of putting an F1 team on the
Racing. track, the German engineering powerhouse needed to
make a match with an existing team.
Although Williams is no longer a family
business, the costs of continuing to compete in The unexpected death in October of Red Bull's
Formula 1 as an independent having exceeded co-founder and owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, 78, an
an independent purse, the name and the Austrian, reported to be the richest man in the
company's location remain firmly based in the country, means that the 2022 Driver of the Year, Max
UK. In 2020 Williams was acquired by an Verstappen and Red Bull as the winner of this year's
American firm, Dorilton Capital. New ownership Constructor Championship, a fifth award for the
did not improve its ability to win races. team, will be facing a different organization in 2023.
Will this mean a change phase for Red Bull
Porsche came looking just about the time that
operations?
the Americans were looking , too, for a way to
move away from the back half of the grid. If Porsche provides the injection of needed capital
along with its engineering chops to Williams, whose
Williams, once a power house in racing, has had
budget in past years could only be described as
a long, slow slide to the bottom, despite being a
mingy, a comeback after serious rebuilding could be
BMW factory team from 2000 to 2005. It has
a reality. Porsche has always loved an engineering
also been an unofficial second team for
challenge and the company has patience. If they
Mercedes, running its powerplants since 2014.
succeed in bringing back Williams it will be quite the
Ergo, Williams is no stranger to German
feather in the cap of a company born to go fast. Let's
engineering even as it has become a stranger to
hope the deal gets done, and the work to win begins.
finding a place on the podium.
Automotive journalists already have said Williams
needs to rethink its drivers.
Stats say that since 2016 Williams has managed
only three appearances on the podium and had
Audi, too, has just hooked up with Stauber to become
only one race win in the last 17 years.
part of the F1 franchise.
This new deal won't be as lucrative as a deal
Will the Germans get the deal done? Stay tuned.
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