Williams to consider options for Lowe’s replacement

Williams will consider various options to replace Formula 1 technical chief Paddy Lowe now that his departure from the team has been confirmed.

Lowe took a leave of absence from Williams after the team’s 2019 car debuted late and has been blighted by a number of issues through the early part of the year, leaving it adrift from the rest of the field.

Williams confirmed earlier this week that Lowe had formally parted company with the team and is no longer a shareholder.

Speaking on Friday in Austria, deputy team principal Claire Williams said that she could not give any further details about Lowe’s exit, but expressed her faith in the technical leadership that has stepped in.

“As you can all imagine, I can’t go into any detail about the situation with Paddy except to say that the situation is resolved and he has left the team, and we wish him well for the future,” Williams said.

“We’ve got to focus on the here and now, and the future, and that’s what we’re doing back at Grove in earnest. A lot of work is going on behind the scenes to make sure that we put Williams in the best possible position moving forward, from everyday moving forwards, not for 2020, not for 2021, but for right now.

“We have a very capable technical management team in place that have been working since Paddy’s leave of absence started back in March. So our chief designer Doug McKiernan and Adam Carter, who’s our head of design, and Dave Robson who runs engineering trackside, and they’re working really well together.

“We’re making good steps in the right direction, and that’s really nice to see. It’s been incredibly difficult for everybody at Williams over the last many, many months now, and it finally feels like we’re heading in the right direction again.

“There’s more of a spring in everybody’s step, so to speak.”

Asked by Crash.net if the team would look for a direct replacement for Lowe, Williams said: “We’re happy with the technical management team that we have, and we’re looking at the options that are available to us now and what would fit most appropriately with our structure.

“As soon as we’ve made a decision, and we can make an announcement, we’ll share it.”

Williams also confirmed that the team was not able to look for or appoint a direct replacement for Lowe while the details of his departure were finalized, but it now has the availability to do so.