Q: The Williams team is some combination of being so poorly run and/or poorly funded that they don’t have a backup car in Australia, and may not have a second car ready in time for Suzuka. And they were using Excel to manage their part inventory. Good grief.
Is there any chance this makes F1 reconsider the value of an Andretti team with support from GM?
I can’t imagine F1 has any control over which driver Williams puts in their single functional car, but the fact that an American is being forced out of his ride in this situation is just icing on the cake. It’s really hard to shake the feeling that F1 wants dollars while not-so-subtly hating American fans, drivers, and racing.
I’ve decided to not renew my F1TV subscription this season. I know F1 won’t miss the $80, but it’s the principle of it for me.
Kyle, Stokesdale
CM: The Excel spreadsheet approach is remarkable but they made it work for so long, and now changing to different software and the whole new approach is what has caught Williams out as it tries to adapt this year.
There’s definitely not a scenario where this leads to a reconsideration on the Andretti front, though. If anything, it’s likely to be used as an example of just how tough F1 is, when one of the most successful teams in the sport’s history — now with strong funding from Dorilton Capital and an existing infrastructure — struggles so much to just adapt certain elements of the way it works.
It would be great to see Andretti join in 2028, but if that happens, the Williams situation should serve as a warning to fans about just how complex and challenging F1 is to be involved in, and what an incredible task Andretti and GM will be taking on.
I’ll flip the point about Sargeant around, though. It was an American driver in a team that has American ownership and backing, and yet those U.S. dollars were risked by Williams because it made the decision solely on a sporting basis and not on what was going to keep the driver or ownership happy. It was a cold, hard decision based on which driver was likely to get the most out of the car.
Q: The lack of a spare chassis for Williams got me thinking about Paddy Lowe’s short tenure the second time around. It appears there has been a lack of capital investment into structure and processes for the teams for at least a decade.
So having said that, has there been any rethink about just who screwed up the Williams team? Somebody dropped the crystal.
Steve
CM: You’re spot-on about when Paddy Lowe was in charge, as Williams missed the start of testing because its car wasn’t ready that year. Claire Williams was effectively team principal at the time (officially deputy to Frank), but it was long before the cost cap era and the team was sticking to its guns of wanting to be a full constructor and not be too reliant on partnerships.
That led to a huge divide in working practices and facilities as the biggest teams could spend endlessly, while Williams regularly had to take pay drivers to keep funding itself to a decent level. I’d argue from the late 2000s it was slipping far behind in terms of its resources, and only now does it have the capacity to try and catch up under the cost cap.
What has happened recently, though, shows how delicate that process is. James Vowles asked the team to run before it could walk when it came to the way of manufacturing a new car for 2024, and pushed the team beyond breaking point. One of the items that then fell through the cracks was the third chassis (the first ones were barely ready for Bahrain).
So I don’t think it’s all on one person that screwed the team up; it’s more a consistent lack of resource as F1 budgets grew that put it so far behind, and now it can try to catch up it has made a mistake in how far it reached over the winter.
Q: Given his performances to start the season, why wouldn’t Red Bull go after Carlos Sainz to replace Checo?
Ed Joras
CM: Funnily enough, I had this very chat with Carlos Sainz Sr. on Sunday night. Mainly from his side, the point was that no bridges had been burned at Red Bull, but he didn’t suggest there had been any talks. I’m with you though, that I think he makes a very good candidate for both the Red Bull seat (if Perez is replaced) and the vacancy at Mercedes.
Audi is definitely interested too, but a spell where there appeared to be a lack of investment and the way that team is currently performing suggests it would be a really tough 2025 for anyone going there.
Q: Josef Newgarden is the best American driver right now. He should be talking to all Formula 1 teams (and to Liberty and to Formula 1 Management so they can apply pressure). Mercedes would be a great fit, and what a great marketing boost for F1 and for Josef. He deserves it. If only… I can dream.
Bruce
CM: Josef definitely has evolved through his career to the point that it would be fascinating to see him in an F1 car. I haven’t got the outward impression that he’s that desperate for the chance, but he’s someone I’d have liked to see getting a test at some stage to show what he can do.
McLaren has been really good in putting Pato O’Ward and Alex Palou in F1 cars for testing analysis, but I wish others would do similar because as different as the cars and tracks are, it could really click for some of the IndyCar guys. The only way you find out is by running them.
Q: Any update on the Andretti F1 bid? Any talk or chance of purchasing an existing team? Or is it officially over for Andretti Cadillac?
Mark, Buffalo, NY
CM: No update at the moment but it’s definitely not officially over. In all releases around the topic and about the new factory, Andretti has made it clear that its work continues apace ahead of a potential entry,
The FIA is also still actively involved as it had submitted Andretti to FOM as a suitable entrant, so discussions continue. But as FOM stated in its recent decision saying 2025 and 2026 were off the table, 2028 isn’t, so there are still multiple doors that are open.
There was a bit of noise surrounding further interest in buying the Haas entry over the winter, but I was told firmly from a Haas POV that the team is not for sale. And that’s the problem in terms of buying an existing team (that F1 and other teams seem to keep suggesting to Andretti as a route in) — there are no teams keen to sell, and certainly not at a price that is deemed acceptable.
THE FINAL WORD
From Robin Miller’s Mailbag, March 29, 2016
Q: What is the reason/tradition of not having any racing on Easter Sunday?
James Ambrosia
ROBIN MILLER: Well, in 2007 Champ Car staged a race on Easter Sunday in downtown Las Vegas. It was the raciest, coolest, fastest street circuit on record. But if you counted the team personnel, ticket takers, street beggars and showgirls, there might have been 4,000 people in attendance. I remember David Phillips and I counting the seats and then the people occupying them. The promoter lost millions and decided to cancel his scheduled street race in Phoenix.