Williams’ former marketing boss has said he doubts the famous British team will ever again win in F1. With its 7 drivers’ and 9 constructors’ championships, Oxfordshire based Williams is one of F1’s most successful teams but the outfit has not won a single race since 2004.
Not only that, the team is ahead only of the three backmarker teams Team Lotus, Virgin and HRT in this year’s constructors’ standings and the Daily Telegraph reports that its share price on the Frankfurt exchange is crashing.
Williams floated 24 per cent of its shares in March at EUR 24.38, but the current price (EUR 15) represents a 40 per cent decline in six months.
Former marketing chief Scott Garrett, now vice president of brands at Heinz, admitted he does not believe Williams “will ever have the budget” to win again in F1.
“The sorry state of the WF1 equity price indicates a team that is more desperate than confident, and confidence is critical when presenting oneself to sponsors and asking them for money,” he said.
Williams is reportedly considering replacing its highly experienced lead driver Rubens Barrichello for 2012 with another driver able to bring sponsorship dollars to the team.
Rookie Pastor Maldonado’s place is considered safe due to his lucrative backing by the Venezuelan state owned oil company PDVSA.
“My feeling right now is unless Williams have money problems, they should stick with what they have right now”, the news agency AFP quotes Barrichello, 39, as saying.
“To have two kids for next year is the wrong thing to have,” added the Brazilian.
Source: GMM
