Williams will not be selecting drivers next season based on the sponsorship money they can bring, the team’s CEO Jost Capito has confirmed.
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That stance follows the team’s takeover by Dorilton Capital last year and Capito’s appointment ahead of the current season.
“I think at Williams we are in the position that we certainly decide on the drivers and we are not dependent, like in the past, on some other driver who brings money,” Capito said.
“We have a long-term plan to get back to the top and we have to choose the drivers that fit into that plan. We are just thinking about this. Of course everybody can talk to us but the decision is with us.”
Financial backing has influenced several Williams driver selections over the past decade. In 2011 Pastor Maldonado, who brought support from Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA, replaced Nico Hülkenberg a week after Hülkenberg had secured pole position for the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Maldonado was followed by other drivers who arrived with commercial backing, including Bruno Senna, Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin.
The current Williams line-up includes George Russell, a junior driver for engine supplier Mercedes, and Nicholas Latifi, who brings sponsorship from brands associated with his family’s company Sofina.
Russell has been widely tipped to move to Mercedes next year alongside Lewis Hamilton. Capito suggested Latifi could retain his seat if he “continues improving and has a strong second half of the season.”
“When you compare him to George, it’s not that big of a difference, especially in the races,” Capito said. “He has good race speed, he brings the car home, he doesn’t make mistakes. He helps the team, he is liked by the team.”
Latifi has not out-qualified Russell in their 26 races together, but Capito noted that qualifying results have sometimes been influenced by luck and changing conditions.
That was evident at Silverstone, where Latifi discovered he was losing around six-tenths on the straights to his team mate. “The wind conditions, for example, changed from his run to George’s run, and you know that our car is very sensitive to the wind conditions,” Capito explained.
“George was just out there when it was really good for our car and then a couple of minutes later when Nicholas was out it was the complete opposite. So when we analyse it, this is pretty good, so there’s no reason not to have him in next year.”
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