What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:06:09:11:21:36 by Andrew Hooper.

More change. What we need is a consistent team leadership pulling together...and a ‘personality’ to woo sponsors.

For me Roberts's was a nice cordial chap, but lacked profile and gravitas to pull the money in.

This all points to him having been a stop gap appointment who hasn’t grown into the role and who has disappointed Dorilton by not making progress in line with the business plan. Hence he is accountable and it’s him paying the price.

What we don’t want is Dorilton losing faith and turning off the money tap. That could happen if the 202w car is a flop.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:06:09:14:23:34 by Stuart L.

Quote:

Stuart L
More change. What we need is a consistent team leadership pulling together...and a ‘personality’ to woo sponsors.
For me Roberts's was a nice cordial chap, but lacked profile and gravitas to pull the money in.

This all points to him having been a stop gap appointment who hasn’t grown into the role and who has disappointed Dorilton by not making progress in line with the business plan. Hence he is accountable and it’s him paying the price.

What we don’t want is Forilton losing faith and turning off the money tap. That could happen if the 2023 car is a flop.

Nicely put Stuart

This report is worrying for next year’s chassis if the running of the team under Roberts is true

[www.bbc.co.uk]

Quote:

GroveF1
This report is worrying for next year’s chassis if the running of the team under Roberts is true
[www.bbc.co.uk]

"The 62-year-old German discovered that there was a breakdown in communication between the two different branches of engineering - the department that runs the car at the races, and the design engineers at the factory.

Race engineering reported into Roberts as racing director, while factory engineering had a separate management structure. Capito found that they were working in isolation from each other, and often even in different directions."

How is this possible? So many reshuffles and still this team isn't working as expected...

The divided departments sounds awfully like what blew up at McLaren a few years ago. Roberts was still at McLaren at that point, and I'm guessing was in the middle of the mud slinging going on over there.

I'm also guessing that Claire had a similar setup (possibly setup by Paddy Lowe? thanks to his McLaren experience?), so Roberts simply continued with the old setup and possibly strengthened that division even (totally speculating here of cause)?

I really hope that FX and Capito can bring harmony and cooperation to the department's in time to salvage a good car design for next year... If they can't, we can look forward to more of the same.

I really wish we knew more about the internal setup of Williams over the years, I'm still gobsmacked when I think back at how we went from 3rd in the championship to bringing up the rear in such a short space of time... Surely funding wasn't the only reason!

I am glad Roberts has been let go.

I find this only good news that the new leadership/and design team are still finding
and spending no time getting rid of weak links in the chain.

I always hated that Claire was still employing cheap failed cast off,s.

I would rather we identify these issues now than pre season testing next year.

It,s only early in the year so the team can recover most of the lost time with a bit of extra overtime,
at least we should be heading in the right direction now.

I have faith the new leadership will get us back in the top half of the grid next year.

Well Done Capito.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:06:10:08:46:43 by GPL.

Bang on GLP. Better to find out now than later!

I would hardly say Roberts was a cast off. He came from a extensive F1 background. For me he got Williams through the whole transition to Dorilton phase of the team. Now it is just the case that the new structure does not require him.

Maybe cast off was a little harsh, but the fact that he was there 12 months and still did not identify
a major fundamental structure problem tells me he is not good enough to be on
the NEW Williams payroll now.

If he had identified this and pointed it out to Capito i am sure he would still be
working for Williams this morning.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:06:10:09:30:54 by GPL.

According to Paddy Lowe the team were under funded for many years even when we finished 3 it was pure luck that we had the Mercedes engine and it didn't so the weakness in the design and lack of investment my reading of the change in the management of the team is once Capito hired TD there were to many cooks he had a review of the running of the team didn't like what he saw and acted

100% Williams
WILL SUPPORT WILLIAMS AS LONG AS We HAVE A TEAM To Support

I think its been fairly obvious that the funding and management of the organisation has been poor for some considerable time, and arguably at spells in between the glory years in the 80s and 90s. The fact that the team didn't benefit from BMW support is telling. They did luck in to third place in the first year of the hybrid engines, but they should of finished second given how much flack red bull gave Renault, yet it was red bull that picked up the race wins when Mercedes stumbled. I was at Silverstone when massa and bottas bolted for the lead, and then slipped down the order when it rained. That doesn't happen if a team has the resources to build a decent car. It has of course only got worse. The surprise of cause is that the likes of Paddy Lowe didn't realise that before he jumped ship.

It’s taken years to slip into the mess we are today and it will take a few years to rebuild. Rome wasn’t built in a day BUT it be built with the right people throughout the business all pulling in the same direction plus some cash!!

At the moment we are in a rebuilding phase and will be for some years. Capito seems to making some hard decisions as well as appointing some good people which is great but it will be a marathon to get back consistently into the top mid field. Layer after layer of quality needs rebuilding.

Often the old guard such as Claire don’t realise how far they have slipped back until later or it’s too late. Quality is something we have lacked for a long while.

People, Process, Funding = Results

Don’t think the car was that bad in 2014 we beat McLaren and force India with same engine

Quote:

ihme

Quote:

GroveF1
This report is worrying for next year’s chassis if the running of the team under Roberts is true
[www.bbc.co.uk]

"The 62-year-old German discovered that there was a breakdown in communication between the two different branches of engineering - the department that runs the car at the races, and the design engineers at the factory.

Race engineering reported into Roberts as racing director, while factory engineering had a separate management structure. Capito found that they were working in isolation from each other, and often even in different directions."

How is this possible? So many reshuffles and still this team isn't working as expected...

Now, let's rephrase the article how it was meant. And that was Capito telling what he discovered. And he discovered this inefficient way of working. Processes that were put in place under the Williams helm. Something you can't change quickly. Even with reshuffling of resources (money and personnel).
This is something that has been identified and is going to change. But identifying in the first place is a feat of its own. And Capitol is good at that. Proven by the fact he had about half a year at Woking and highlighted every aspect that was in dire need of change. And when addressed, it was proven that they went up and onwards. Something to be expected at Williams as well. But not from the go like many of you seem to think.
Also, Roberts leaving is a good thing. He was just a puppet for this period of time. His departure was already certain when he too the seat at the pit wall at the beginning. Capito actually taking over is a very good thing.

What I want to know why people on here think it's something to do with next year's car design Simon was track side nothing to do with design so how do some say it's affecting next year's car

100% Williams
WILL SUPPORT WILLIAMS AS LONG AS We HAVE A TEAM To Support

i look forward to next year with a more positive mindset.

I know it will take years to hopefully make it back to the podiums but i think Williams have now
finally taken that first step back up that ladder.

The new people in charge of operations and design seem like the real deal.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:06:10:16:29:54 by GPL.

Quote:

GPL
i look forward to next year with a more positive mindset.
I know it will take years to hopefully make it back to the podiums but i think Williams have now
finally taken that first step back up that ladder.

The new people in charge of operations and design seem like the real deal.

Agreed 100%

100% Williams
WILL SUPPORT WILLIAMS AS LONG AS We HAVE A TEAM To Support

Quote:

boro1986willliamsf1
What I want to know why people on here think it's something to do with next year's car design Simon was track side nothing to do with design so how do some say it's affecting next year's car

I think you've answered my concern about next year's car design in the wording of your question. Simon was indeed in charge of track side operations. And from the BBC article it clearly states that Capito found that:


"Race engineering reported into Roberts as racing director, while factory engineering had a separate management structure. Capito found that they were working in isolation from each other, and often even in different directions."


So it was Simon's department that was not working alongside the design team and vice versa. To design the best possible car, you need to have consistent feedback for this year's car to the design team working on this year's and next year's, so that they know that their calculations are correlating to the data given by CFD and the wind tunnel. If there is a breakdown in this link alone (there will be other departments as well that need to have good 2 way communication as well) then how does the design team know if thier previous designs are doing exactly what their predictions suggest they are on the race track? Which in turn effects the next cars design and accuracy of real world results vs data. One of the catch phrases at the moment is "correlation", and whenever someone says they are having issues with correlation they are talking about theory and data not presenting real world results that match what their design data says it should have.

This all means of cause that the car that is designed is not performing in the real world in the race track in the way they predicted it should. Which obviously has an effect on the future updates, or chassis, everything really.

The second half of the quoted text from the BBC article says that both departments were often working in different directions, meaning that the race team were wanting to develop the car to do X and the design department were developing the car to do Y which it seems was in conflict with each other (different and opposing directions). Again if this is the case, then next year's car will be effected by the contradicting needs and future plans for the car.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:06:10:23:05:37 by Mr Brooksy.

Very well explained.

Thank you.

Good move if team wasn't moving forward. Continuity and stability is not an objective. Pace is.

Farewell to Mr. Roberts and best of luck.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022:07:11:05:48:36 by redline.

Another take on the Roberts departure
[www.motorsportmagazine.com]

100% Williams
WILL SUPPORT WILLIAMS AS LONG AS We HAVE A TEAM To Support

Quote:

boro1986willliamsf1
Another take on the Roberts departure
[www.motorsportmagazine.com]

Good find, and thanks for posting. This article sheds light onto the culture differences between traditional Williams culture, McLaren culture and the rest of the VW crew (Capito, FX and Rampf). I wonder if the very strict McLaren structure is the direction that Roberts wanted to go and Capito wants to do more of a Brown culture whereby it's more structured than traditional Williams, but not to the Ron Dennis level... And maybe that's why Roberts left McLaren in the first place?

Fyi, totally speculation speaking.

Came across this, this morning:

[youtu.be]

Quote:

Mr Brooksy
Came across this, this morning:
[youtu.be]

After watching this they basically saying 2 into one don't go so something had to give Simon had to go Capito wasn't getting rid of FX as he employed him nothing wrong with next year's car looking forward for the future
Good video by the way

100% Williams
WILL SUPPORT WILLIAMS AS LONG AS We HAVE A TEAM To Support

Good Find.

All looking a lot better for the future.

I am sure these new guys will get us up the sharp end.

They will need to put some focus now into some decent drivers to replace our current pair.

so has Simon already left and is not in France or has he got a structured leaving date?

Quote:

CLOVERLEAF 888
so has Simon already left and is not in France or has he got a structured leaving date?

Left the same day

100% Williams
WILL SUPPORT WILLIAMS AS LONG AS We HAVE A TEAM To Support

These guys know what needs to be done, and just get on with it.

I am glad to see this happening at Williams Finally no faffing about at last.

Williams bigging up there team a little from a story this morning.

Stating is is becoming more attractive with drivers that are seeing real investment and real change in
operations.

Good news

I think if lose RUS then we do need a serious old hand in there. God help us if we have to keep LAT. As many of us have said, get Hulk out of the wardrobe and dust him down. Note that ALO has now got the measure of OCO in the last few races.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022:07:11:05:46:39 by redline.