Sebastian Vettel
Mark Alan Webber
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton
Part Two of my recent conversation with Sir Stirling Moss, originally recorded for SpeedTV.com. The subject? Life…
Congratulations are due to Claire Williams (Sir Frank’s daughter) on her new appointment to the Board at WilliamsF1 – and to her new role as Director of Marketing and Communications. A tough fighter, like her Dad, Claire has in recent years been working on the Media side of the team. Now, with Dominic Reilly leaving Williams at the end of this month, Claire is taking on the difficult role of sponsorship procurement and management. She’ll do well, I believe.
Simultaneously, with his 70th birthday coming on April 12, Sir Frank will be stepping down from the Board at WilliamsF1 – but not – many F1 fans will be pleased to hear – as Team Principal.
“It is no secret that Claire is my daughter,” said Sir Frank in his own, inimitable, style today, “but I am proud to say that she has fought hard to earn this appointment and of all the battles she has had to fight, the prejudices of her father were not the least challenging. Dominic Reilly has proven a unique talent in the field of sports marketing and filling the gap he leaves was daunting. But I have come to the view that Claire, with her profound love and knowledge of the sport and the team, can do so and I am proud and delighted that the Board has given her this opportunity. I am equally delighted that Dominic will remain close to the team with his new venture and that we can thank him for his contribution to Williams by supporting him now.
“This is an opportune moment, also, for me to consider my own role in the team. I turn 70 in April and I have decided to signal the next stage in the gradual but inevitable process of handing over the reins to the next generation by stepping down from the Board at the end of this month. This is not as dramatic a move as it may appear: I shall continue to work full-time as Team Principal and I shall continue to attend all Board meetings as observer. I also remain the majority shareholder of Williams Grand Prix Holdings PLC. Nonetheless, I shall be looking to Claire to represent the Williams family on the Board and I know that she will work tirelessly alongside Adam to make the Group and the team just as successful as we can be.”
Jonathan Williams, Claire’s equally-talented brother, continues to work at Williams on driver-management and the huge portfolio of past WilliamsF1 machinery. He also has close connections with the iSport GP2 team.
Lewis Hamilton in Turn Four – perfect use of steering and throttle, plus the correct minimum speed, gives him a straight car mid-corner. The rest, from the point, is a piece of cake
Bruno Senna at Turn Four in the Williams: mid-corner, he has managed to convert initial understeer into oversteer. Lovely to watch but lots of time going away here
Barcelona looks lovely in the late winter, and so it is that 2012 F1 cars gleam in the yellow sun, starbursts of florescent orange, or a deep aquatic blue suddenly catching the shaded eye. For all that, I actually found it quite difficult to see the cars in action on Tuesday, February 21. I headed straight for Turn Nine of course, because I love to watch F1 cars swallowing blind, fifth-gear corners, but I came away confused. Lewis Hamilton flew through first, in that chrome-and-orange -“No plans to change the nose at this stage” – McLaren – and he was impressive enough: he tore into the corner without a lift in fifth, then grabbed fourth two-thirds of the way through it, as the tyres scrubbed away speed. Astonishingly, though, Nico Hulkenberg , to my eye, looked every bit as good at this point of the circuit in the Sahara Force India – as did Fernando in the Ferrari. It was only when Bruno Senna appeared in the Williams FW34-Renault, car understeering pretty much from entry to exit, that I could see the first three in any kind of relief. On the plus side, they were all mind-blowingly quick – quick, neat and very, very tidy. Read more…
In an interview with Peter Windsor for Speed.com, Valtteri Bottas, the stunning new Finnish star, talks about his career to date, his decision not to race GP2 in 2012 and his feelings prior to making his European F1 driving debut in Barcelona this week. Bottas has also chatted to us live on The Flying Lap just after clinching the 2011 GP3 Championship in September – download from http://smibs.tv/theflyinglap
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