[Team] Williams: Do they have a spare tub?

[peebee2]

Really???

Or simply that the current sponsor hasn’t been paying the invoices.

[midgetman]

Anyone want to buy a classic Williams? There'll be a few going.



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[midgetman]

Originally Posted by peebee2

Really???

Or simply that the current sponsor hasn’t been paying the invoices.

Definitely. One presumes the cheque bounced.

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[peebee2]

Originally Posted by midgetman

Definitely. One presumes the cheque bounced.

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Sadly there were quite a few who said this was likely Rich Energy v2.0.

And this was the Williams team that were desperate to get Rich Energy v1.0!

Stinks of utter desperation and short-sightedness.

[Peter Mallett]

I reckon we are now looking at some predatory investors waiting for the fire sale.

[S griffin]

I am not surprised this has happened, they can’t rely on sponsorship or even pay drivers anymore. They need a big money buyout to stay in F1. I’d hate to those Williams, ok I would hate to lose any team, but it would be really sad if Williams were to go. I just hope they sell to the right person so the team keeps going, just as long as it’s not a dodgy businessman who takes over. That could be worse

[ascarracinguk]

Hmmmm doesn’t sound good does it?

There have been rumours about Stroll buying Mercedes and selling Force India to Mazepin.....I wonder if it’s actually Stroll keeping Force India and Mazepin buying Williams.....where he tried to get his son a drive last year.

Surely this means Russell to Mercedes and Bottas out too?

[cds_uk]

Just how interested is Mr Latifi? he certainly has the money and he already has his foot through the door, for want of a better expression.

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by ascarracinguk

Hmmmm doesn’t sound good does it?

There have been rumours about Stroll buying Mercedes and selling Force India to Mazepin.....I wonder if it’s actually Stroll keeping Force India and Mazepin buying Williams.....where he tried to get his son a drive last year.

Surely this means Russell to Mercedes and Bottas out too?

It’s a nice idea but, sadly, I’m not sure what parallel universe you would have to be in to see Williams as the better buy of the two.

Laughable 15 years ago, but a clear demonstration of company management.

[ascarracinguk]

Originally Posted by peebee2

It’s a nice idea but, sadly, I’m not sure what parallel universe you would have to be in to see Williams as the better buy of the two.

Laughable 15 years ago, but a clear demonstration of company management.

Assuming Matzepin has enough capital to buy FI off Stroll.....

As someone mentioned above, Latifi Sr isn’t a bad shout either. Problem with all these names is what’s their long term investment in teams once their sons have moved on? That worries me.

[Roninho]

Originally Posted by ascarracinguk

Assuming Matzepin has enough capital to buy FI off Stroll.....

As someone mentioned above, Latifi Sr isn’t a bad shout either. Problem with all these names is what’s their long term investment in teams once their sons have moved on? That worries me.

Do they have to move on?
Race +- 10 years in F1 and then move into managing the f1 team.

[Roninho]

Originally Posted by EastonNeston

Giving notice to the current sponsor would suggest that either thay have a new sponsor wanting to come onboard or they have a potential investor/purchasor that wants a clean canvass to apply their branding.

To me it suggest that Rokit has not paid a cent, and have been receiving a bunch of legal letters in the past months up till the point that Williams legal advicers have given the go ahead that it is safe for Williams to give notice to Rokit.

[EastonNeston]

Sadly that is also possible.

[S griffin]

Remember Nic Hamilton had to pull out of the BTCC last season due to Rokit withdrawing their sponsorship. So it wouldn’t surprise me if Rokit are having financial problems which means they can’t pay Williams

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Remember Nic Hamilton had to pull out of the BTCC last season due to Rokit withdrawing their sponsorship. So it wouldn’t surprise me if Rokit are having financial problems which means they can’t pay Williams

Or it was obvious they never had the money in the first place!

[Nikki Katz]

This is really depressing but somewhat predictable. I almost home that f1 would go away for a few years and come back more sustainable. It should be massive business and have a capacity grid, not one missing 6 cars and about to be missing a load more. Obviously covid has triggered this, but it’s not like things were healthy beforehand.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Roninho

To me it suggest that Rokit has not paid a cent, and have been receiving a bunch of legal letters in the past months up till the point that Williams legal advicers have given the go ahead that it is safe for Williams to give notice to Rokit.

It would be a fairly quick turnaround in fortunes (although that is possible).

Last season in the BTCC, when DUO (another name on the F1 grid) withdrew from their deal with Nic Hamilton, it was Rokit who stepped up and plugged the gap for Knockhill.
At the time, IIRC, there were questions about whether they could have supported the rest of the season, and it looks like they regrouped for a full season this year.
If they are now unable to fulfil their agreement with Williams (and I'm sure we are just speculating), will it affect Rokit's other Motorsport presence?

[Moneyseeker]

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/14...ment-by-summer

This is pretty much the end of Williams as we know it.

The Grove-based outfit announced on Friday that it was beginning a strategic review of its operations to attract a financial injection that it believes will help secure it a brighter future in F1.

While the formal process has only just begun, deputy team principal Claire Williams said the outfit did not intend to wait long before making a decision on what route it finally takes.

Asked by Autosport as to when she expected the process to be concluded, Williams said: "We haven't put a timeframe on this process, but we want to complete it within the next three to four months.

"We like to do things fast in F1 don't we? And we feel that we can achieve it in that timeframe.

"But we are fully funded throughout the remainder of this year to continue racing as and when we can go back to the circuit.

I presume that the funding they have for this year is from the loan from Latif secured on the remaining Williams assets. Irony is that Williams were in talks for sponsorship with Rich Energy before RE walked away for a 'better deal' with Haas and probably thought they had a narrow escape when they secured Rokit, only to see it end the same way.

Great shame, but shows how tough it is these days.

[Richard C]

Crazy times right now. It is just insane. Between Williams, McLaren and Mercedes. It's like an iceberg. The initial Williams trouble was maybe the tip. How large and deep does the iceberg go? What other news might pop up over the next few months. What topics of discussion are rumors and what is real? It's hard to believe.

Richard

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Remember Nic Hamilton had to pull out of the BTCC last season due to Rokit withdrawing their sponsorship. So it wouldn’t surprise me if Rokit are having financial problems which means they can’t pay Williams

Except it was Duo who bailed not Rokit Infact Rokit bailed him out for Knockhill

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

Except it was Duo who bailed not Rokit Infact Rokit bailed him out for Knockhill

https://www.motorsport.com/btcc/news...rokit/4540663/

[andy97]

I am looking forward to the third series of Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” - no racing but lots going on behind the scenes if they have been able to capture it.

[chillibowl]

covid or not...i wonder how much more valuable F1 teams are now that the budget cap has been agreed upon?

this may seem counter intuitive but if one can now run a team in a sport where the TV and hosting fees combined are huge, with a more equal prize fund distribution while running an F1 team for under 145mil and still be competitive then even a team like Williams may start looking like a very lucrative purchase to the right buyers.

obviously we dont know when racing (and racing in front of fans will start up again) but one has to assume (vaccine or not) that sports will return within the next year right?

this thread questions whether or not Williams have a plan and me reading all the current speculation and it looks like their plan may earn them a sizable windfall from a sale?

what is a team (even the least competitive one on the grid) worth post covid?

lets say the new buyer will assume the corporation's liabilities with the purchase...a conservative estimate for the Williams' family equity is probably still a value over 100mil no?

personally i think it will add to much more then that.

anyways, i think we are seeing the culmination of a plan which will put a lot of money in someones pocket.

[Moneyseeker]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

Crazy times right now. It is just insane. Between Williams, McLaren and Mercedes. It's like an iceberg. The initial Williams trouble was maybe the tip. How large and deep does the iceberg go? What other news might pop up over the next few months. What topics of discussion are rumors and what is real? It's hard to believe.

Richard

Companies will not yet know the extent of the damage, many will have been existing on government support, others will see shareholders demolished and capital depleted, no one knows how long it will take to recover. It is likely that many will not.

For example, I know of one wealthy club racer who contacted series officials where he has competed for years, to tell them he will not be racing should the season resume as his business has been wiped out by Covid-19. I suspect he will not be the last.

The only plus point is borrowing has probably never been cheaper, but some firms are probably over leveraged already. If you are a shareholder or more or less anything you will get zip in dividends firstly over losses and them companies will focus on cash hoarding IMO.

[Moneyseeker]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

covid or not...i wonder how much more valuable F1 teams are now that the budget cap has been agreed upon?

this may seem counter intuitive but if one can now run a team in a sport where the TV and hosting fees combined are huge, with a more equal prize fund distribution while running an F1 team for under 145mil and still be competitive then even a team like Williams may start looking like a very lucrative purchase to the right buyers.

obviously we dont know when racing (and racing in front of fans will start up again) but one has to assume (vaccine or not) that sports will return within the next year right?

this thread questions whether or not Williams have a plan and me reading all the current speculation and it looks like their plan may earn them a sizable windfall from a sale?

what is a team (even the least competitive one on the grid) worth post covid?

lets say the new buyer will assume the corporation's liabilities with the purchase...a conservative estimate for the Williams' family equity is probably still a value over 100mil no?

personally i think it will add to much more then that.

anyways, i think we are seeing the culmination of a plan which will put a lot of money in someones pocket.

Firstly, some of the TV deals are not far from ending and for example SKY TV deal ends in 2024, we will never see the big TV deals again IMO. Don't forget that FOM is effectively competing with TV deals with their F1 TV streaming package - even of they get it working it will impact on future TV deals.

Secondly - the genie is out of the bottle - hosting fees of the like BE negotiated will never return, the number of countries that can unaccountably splash public cash around are not there. Look at Saudi, for example they are raising taxes to fill budget shortfalls. Forget big hosting fees, they are over.

Thirdly - finally the circuits have realised that without venues FOM has no business - this will make new deals harder. IMO FOM will end up largely have to hire circuits and put on GP's themselves and sell tickets direct to fans

Fourth - despite hiring loads of marketing staff FOM has signed virtually no significance new F1 sponsors - most you see are from BE's day. How many beers do we think Heineken has sold in locked down bars around Europe or watches Rolex has sold in boarded up stores? How long will they carry on?

All of the above makes me think that earning any big money in F1 is going to get harder not easier.

Not sure about the big windfull or Williams, the Latif loan was rumoured to be £50m for which Williams had to put up more or less all their remaining assets for collateral including the factory, plant, 100 classic F1 cars and the F1 entry, SFW owns 52% I believe, so we can assume from the above that his assets were valued at £50M, if Williams gets say £100M for the team - the other investors get more or less £50M - SFW gets £50M which is owed to Latif = 0 left surely?