The latest to come out of Grove is that Williams is up for sale and TJ13 understands Porsche are looking to buy the historic Formula 1 team with an imminent announcement from the German car maker who had previously been linked to partnering Red Bull.
With the Grove-based team reportedly up for sale, the exit of senior team staff; namely Jost Capito and Technical Director Francois Xavier Demaison. Then the appointment of James Vowles of Mercedes as team principal, many big changes are afoot at Williams, with the latest bombshell from Porsche the icing on the cake.
The news of the sale of Williams to Porsche came yesterday from sources within Stuggart. Bookmark this page for futher updates later today….
UPDATE: Hints from Porsche
Sources within Williams have been in contact with this website suggesting an imminent purchase or collaboration with Porsche. Stuggart has yet to confirm or deny any rumours apart from fueling the fires with strange social media postings, namely their Instagram account. Porsche deleted all their Formula E posts on Instagram, leaving just a single new post remaining.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CncbbETjBkj/?hl=fr
Williams’ trying to sell
As this website had reported some time ago, it appears that the Williams Formula One team has been looking for a buyer for some time now.
Dorilton bought the struggling team in August 2020 for €152m marking the end of an era for the struggling family owned team.
With Porsche looking for a way into Formula One it appears now that Dorilton are negotiating their exit and leaving management appointments in the hands of the new owners upon the removal of senior staff.
It’s been one whole month since the departure of William’s top management with not a whisper over who is set to replace them. Now Swedish based F1 journalist reveals the problems behind the scene in Grove which may have meant Capito and Demaison were pushed rather than jumped.
Given the current rumblings from the F1 teams who want to increase the entry fee from $200m to $600m, Dorilton Capital may own a valuable asset even though its performance potential at present is not good, ripe territory for Porsche to take over.
Porsche failed with Red Bull, now look at Williams
A failed deal to buy into Red Bull has made Porsche look elsewhere.
The warning signs of the deal collapsing were there for all to see as Christian Horner gave a series of interviews prior to the summer break this year repeatedly stressing the need for a partner “that works within our DNA”.
Whilst part of the VW group, Porsche has its own board of directors based in Stuttgart and has continued to operate the iconic brand in a fairly conservative fashion over the years.
Certainly the unconfirmed worst kept secret within the paddock was that Porsche wanted to own a significant piece of the Red Bull operation, and the Milton Keynes team was not keen at all. The official line came down to Porsche’s methods of operating were not compatible.
When asked in Japan about what gives the current Red Bull Racing model such a competitive advantage, Christian Horner was blunt with his reply.
“Recently we had exactly that dilemma where we had the opportunity to work with an OEM [Porsche] taking a significant shareholding in the team.
“But it was recognised that our DNA would be affected if we could not continue to operate exactly in the manner that has made us successful with that ability to make quick-fire decisions without having to go through layers and layers of process and bureaucracy.”
Porsche announcement
While TJ13 sources in Grove indicate the deal with Porsche is coming, it is unclear exactly what that will entail. An educated guess based on the issues with the Porsche / Red Bull deal would point to a total purchase of the team, or at least a controlling stake. Time will tell as to which direction it will go if our sources are correct.
READ MORE F1 NEWS: Hamilton to own Man U
Oh.. i hope they keep the Williams name.. Sir Frank is legendary with F1
Villums
Bit of a come down for Porsche if this is true which is why I think this is fake news. Journalists passing off fiction as fact but why let that spoil a good story. Leave Williams alone and let Mr Vowles build a good team up quietly and maybe there will be successes on the tracks sometime. F1 teams are at the pinnacle of motor racing even the low performance ones are to be admired.
Journalists – HA
Williams have denied the claim, this is good ol “making fiction..facts journalism”. If you have a “source”, I’d get rid of them.
Ferrari denied Binotto leaving just 2 weeks before he did… Aston Martin refuted their car could bearly turn a wheel last winter when our source revealed the disarray within the team meant they’d be lucky to make testing. This is not mainstream media or portal of official team statement. Rather it is a means for those inside teams to reveal what is going on behind closed doors
People seem to forget Venture Cap firms whole business model is turn a return on it’s purchase in a limited time… Williams will be sold sooner or later. That’s just a given.
Porsche got its IPO last September and while the VW group is still the major shareholder, Porsche is independent nowadays (and publicly traded).
Interesting when the F1 rumors show up and you google for Porsche news, always the low stock price shows up. Gives me the idea of wishful thinking in Stuttgart, because I don’t know who will give them the money for it.
Misleading title, fooled me once, now I know
They all are Tom – modus operandi round here