Huge Shock -Not Really

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Lets hope they are not riding into the sunset.

Williams Formula One announced today that the Formula One side of their business is up for sale. They have managed to get rid of Rokit as their title sponsor at the same time. Nicholas Latifi their number 2 driver was part of that deal as the sponsor basically paid for his seat.

Williams have said that they are prepared to sell the entirety of the business or go into partnership as they only want the best for the team. Lets face it thy have hit rock bottom and I can't believe they have reached this point. Talk about bad management all round as it wouldn't take much to get them back up into the top 3. I honestly believe that as they have all the tools required with a state of the art operation with all the gizmos and machinery.

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The team needs top drivers and not mediocre.George Russell may be a nice guy, but has no experience to dig the team out of this hole. These are just kids and a huge business is relying on them to fix it. Would you stake your fortune and livelihood of hundreds of workers on them?

I have spoken about this before and it was a time bomb ticking. The last 10 years have not been very good as their results have been on a slippery slide going all the way to the bottom. Business wise this is not great as how do you negotiate with sponsors? You are rock bottom so should be grateful someone wants to stick their branding on your car. You have no real negotiation moves remaining as the performance is not there.

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Claire Williams needs to be behind the scenes to keep the Williams legacy going. She is not capable of doing this and I don't see her as failing, but others failing around her. She needs help and this should have happened years ago.

In the business world companies want to be linked with successful teams or individuals. It is good for brands to be linked with a global sport but only if you are winning or challenging for the lead. Television coverage of a Williams car during a race will be glimpses and mainly when they are being lapped by the top cars.

Last year Ferrari topped the most sponsorship deals with 31 and earning them in the region of $280 Million. Mercedes earns in the region of $200 Million and red Bull around $150 Million per season. Not surprising as everyone wants to be associated with these teams as they are always at the top of the grid.The title sponsors cover the bulk of the budget however such as Marlboro on Ferrari $150 Million plus and Mercedes with Petronas a reported $75 Million.

If we look at Williams their title sponsor is a paltry $15 Million and a reported overall team sponsorship with 18 sponsors raking in around $90 Million. This is why I say it is seriously bad management on their part. Attract and pay for the top drivers that will drive for your team and the sponsors will follow.

Someone like Sebastien Vettel is up for grabs and I am sure a deal of $30 Million could be reached. Having Sebastien on board will have sponsors queuing at the door. It shows intent and that the team wants to rectify the situation. Williams had a loss of around $13 Million last season which is nothing if they can fix this.With the budgetary caps in place it just seems odd they now want to step away. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money, actually not sometimes as it is most times.

Williams have options and I am hoping they don't sell out entirely as that would break Frank Williams heart. He is old these days and the set up still shouts out for a Championship winning team. They have everything to achieve this and someone needs to seriously wake up. When you are in a hole it is difficult to get out unless you have people around you who know how to fix it. Personally I don't see a huge problem and is fixable with the right personnel.