I managed iconic Formula One team my dad founded but I haven’t even been to a Grand Prix since I was forced to sell it

WILLIAMS rack up their 800th F 1 race today.

But the milestone is too “painful” to watch for Claire Williams, daughter of the team’s founder, Sir Frank.

She sold the family business in 2020 to US investment firm Dorilton Capital — and has not been to a race since.

It ended one of the great Formula One family dynasties after Sir Frank founded the team in 1977 and won nine constructors’ titles and seven drivers’ championships.

But since selling up, it has been too much for Claire, who ran the team from 2013 to 2020.

She said: “I don’t watch it any more. It has been a really conscious decision because I’m still recovering from taking a step back. Leaving my team has left an enormous gap. We were reluctant sellers. Life took us down that road where we were forced to sell.

“I’m getting to that point now where I’m going to start watching again.

“It is still quite painful and difficult seeing someone else run the team that was once in our family and life.”

Williams are now under the stewardship of James Vowles, a smart Englishman who was motorsport strategy director at Mercedes-AMG Petronas.

And there is a real sense the team are making progress on the track, having slumped to the back of the grid.

Claire, 46, revealed Vowles’ appointment as team principal would have received the full backing of her dad, who died in 2021.

She added: “It is nice that Williams as a name still remains a Formula One. With James now being there, it looks like the team is moving in the right direction.

“When they told me it was James I was like, ‘My goodness, just genius’. He’s a  brilliant choice.

“I genuinely believe my dad would have been really happy with that decision as well.”

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Claire got to know Vowles when   he  was   overseeing   George Russell’s three-year loan from Mercedes. And she is delighted to see him doing so well as Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate.

Claire said: “I’m really proud of George and so happy for him because we did hold him back at Williams and kept him to his contract.

“My dad taught me, when you go through a struggle, the success when you finally get it, is all the more rewarding.”

Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk