Williams has been last in the Constructors’ Championship all season, but team principal Jost Capito is not too upset and explained why in an interview with Motorsport-Magazin.
Q: Williams finished 8th in the Constructors’ Championship last season and fell back to last place in 2022. What can your team expect next year?
Jost Capito: It won’t get any better next year, that’s for sure. From the outside it looks like we’ve taken a step back, judging by the position we now occupy in the championship. But I look at it differently: the points that allowed us to take 8th place last year were mainly earned in Spa, where there was actually no race.
Everyone was unlucky with the weather then, but we were able to take advantage of the difficult conditions. This year it wasn’t, but we still earned points in ambiguous situations thanks to daring tactics, also because we could afford to make riskier decisions than our rivals.
Q: Many consider Williams to be the biggest disappointment of the season. The transition to a new technical regulation would be the beginning of a new era, moreover, the effect of the introduction of budget restrictions was quite noticeable – nevertheless Williams was far behind. Aren’t you upset?
Jost Capito: Not at all. We have achieved the goals we have set for ourselves this year, or rather, we are on our way to these goals. The transition to tight budgets doesn’t mean teams will equalize right away.
In previous years, the budgets of top teams were five or even ten times bigger than ours. Now, if everyone can spend the same amount of money, that doesn’t mean everyone will perform at roughly the same level. It will be another five or ten years before those opportunities ever level off.
Our team now has to invest in projects that other teams have already completed in previous years. We have to catch up to get to their level.
Q: Does this affect the pace at which you overtake rivals?
Jost Capito: Of course, and very seriously.
Q: Is Williams lagging due to a lack of modern and efficient infrastructure or inefficient work processes? Or with something else?
Jost Capito: I don’t think it’s about these processes. We have already changed a lot, restructured and started working differently. We also have to understand that last year we were mainly concerned with creating a car for this season, and finally Francois-Xavier Demaison, our new technical director, only started working halfway through the season.
Therefore, we first had to analyze in detail all the processes, because it was important to understand how everything is organized here, and only after that it will be possible to carry out some kind of reform. The same goes for investments made in the past two years, including upgrades to wind tunnels and other equipment. Such investments cannot increase the speed of the car the next day.
They help improve the technological processes we use in developing next year’s car – and this is even the earliest. That’s why we have high hopes for the chassis for 2023. We developed it, already adopting new approaches, but when we talk about infrastructure, we are still noticeably behind.
Question: What tasks do you set yourself in 2023? It looks like it won’t be long before Williams racers regularly reach the qualifiers, but you probably won’t be satisfied with last place in the championship…
Jost Capito: Not satisfied of course. Next season we have to compete with the teams of the middle group. By betting on Logan Sargent, we’re taking a risk because he’s a rookie. He cannot be compared to such an experienced professional as Alex Albon. But here we have to think strategically: if we want to train our rider, if we want to become competitive in the future, then it is important to start working with a young rider as early as possible.
Therefore, we understand that next year we will not be able to earn as many points as we could bring to the team with two experienced drivers. But we are ready to go for it.
Q: When can we expect a powerful leap forward from Williams? For example, McLaren tells us that all their efforts should pay off in 2024-2025.
Jost Capito: It’s hard to say, we won’t name a specific year. But look at Ferrari or Red Bull: they have been catching up since 2014 – that’s eight whole years. It’s impossible to talk about timing and predict anything because all teams are evolving. To get ahead of them, you have to move the fastest.
Q: Most teams have factory status or cooperate with large companies. Will Williams be able to survive in Formula 1 today, even with tight budgets, given you remain a relatively small frequent team?
Jost Capito: Limited budgets make it possible to stay in the championship for years. Without it, Williams wouldn’t have had a chance, as automakers can afford to invest a lot of money.
But of course it wouldn’t hurt us if the team had a strong partner. However, it all depends on the nature of these relationships. As we know from history, this can also have a negative impact on the team. And I want to avoid that, because it is very possible to remain a customer team, but at the same time to perform very successfully. Red Bull Racing has won championships as a Renault customer team.
Q: Do you still regret that Audi has decided not to work with Williams, but with Sauber?
Jost Capito: It’s hard to say, everything always depends on how much you are willing to sacrifice the independence of the team.
Q: It’s no secret that Nicholas Latifi got a seat at Williams for money. Does this mean that now that the team owners have given you the freedom to choose, there is no longer a need to invite riders who have generous sponsors?
Jost Capito: Yes, everything makes sense. Nicholas spent three seasons with us and when he came to Williams the team was in a difficult financial situation. In this regard, his help was of enormous importance, so we have fully fulfilled our contractual obligations. Nicholas is even better than his results this year suggest. But sometimes a team needs change.
Q: You mentioned Logan Sargent and already said he will drive for Williams when he gets an FIA super license in Formula 2 at the end of the season. What qualities in him attract you, that you are willing to take risks by to bet on a newcomer?
Jost Capito: First of all, his progress. If you compare his qualifying results with those of his teammates, you will see that he was always faster, even when he was up against Oscar Piastri. It speaks to its speed. If the rider is fast, it is a very real task to achieve the stability of the results. But making a stable racer fast that does not differ in speed is impossible.
Logan still has a lot to learn. But as a newcomer to F2, he won races and always had a great run in qualifying. When he was admitted to our racing academy, he had to be very active in preparing for Formula 1 and show that he is capable of making rapid progress.
Q: Do you watch Mick Schumacher before finally deciding on the 2023 roster? After all, he is still considered one of the Williams candidates…
Jost Capito: We look at all the riders who deserve attention. But it’s still unclear whether Mick will stay in Haas F1 or not, so we can’t decide anything.
Q: If Logan Sargent fails to get a super license, will Mick remain one of the contenders?
Jost Capito: If the super license option doesn’t work, any experienced rider who has one is of interest to us.
Source: F1 News
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