Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Williams: car sharing to kill independents

Frank Williams fears that independent teams will be driven out of Formula One if customer cars become the norm over the next few years

As the row over Super Aguri and Scuderia Toro Rosso's plans for 2007 appears no closer to a resolution, Williams has said his biggest fear is actually the longer-term implications of having customer chassis in F1.

Speaking in an interview with autosport.com, Williams said: "The independent teams cannot survive without a level playing field on cost and a fair income. Chassis sharing without revenue consequences will kill the independents."

Williams believes that the investment and commitment teams like his have shown over several decades in designing and manufacturing cars will be wasted if teams like Toro Rosso and the new Prodrive outfit are simply allowed to race customer cars and earn constructors' points and television rights money.

"Why should (Prodrive boss) David (Richards) come in with an investment of about £20 million quid while every other single team have worked their bollocks off to pay their bills?" explained Williams.

"We've made Formula One without him. What commitment has David shown by buying his car? He can stop again in two years."

He added: "We're not in any way attacking David Richards with whom we have truly excellent relations; he's never done anything to hurt Williams. But if you're a constructor it means you build your own racing cars - as has been the case for decades in F1. And if you buy one, ergo you're just not a constructor."

Williams insists it is not guaranteed yet that customer cars will be allowed in F1 from 2008, because teams have not yet signed off the new Concorde Agreement that would ratify the move.

"The rules say, as they are presently written and they have not yet been changed in the 2008 Concorde Agreement, that you must make your own car," he said. "And if you are overt, and you go out and buy it from McLaren then you are not a constructor. So how do you score points in the championship?

"You know the championship is very dear to constructors, very important. He's (Max Mosley) got to tell us the rules are going to change."

In the shorter term, Williams says he believes the issue of Super Aguri and Toro Rosso's 2007 cars will head for arbitration - even though the legal process can be quite lengthy.

"It won't take years. It might take a year, and it might get messy. But maybe Max should get more forceful then.

"He did say that he was not involved in it because it's a Concorde Agreement matter. But there are three parties that have signed the Concorde Agreement and he is one of them."

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Q & A with Kimi Raikkonen
Next article Q & A with Frank Williams

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe