06 | THE BUSINESS OF F1

19 / 03 / 2015
2015 | RACONTEUR
TUESDAY 3 MARCH

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RACONTEUR | 19 / 03 / 2015

THE BUSINESS OF F1 | 07

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COMMERCIAL FEATURE

Revving up against Formula 1 legends

SILICON VALLEY
MEETS SILVERSTONE:
ENSURING THE
SECURITY OF YOUR
WINNING FORMULA

The fortunes of F1 on the track may be best illustrated by the story of established racers Williams and
newcomers Haas who are taking on the legends of motorsport
WILLIAMS

Ensuring the security of sensitive data can be

the split-second difference between winning and
losing on the Formula 1 track

Formula 1 has long boasted the fastest

road-course automobiles in the world
and, with that distinction, comes a highly competitive atmosphere between rival
manufacturers. Race day is an intense
mixture of anxiety, hard work, planning
and precision that can all go awry with
the smallest degree of error.
But as new technology and designs
arise, the only kind of speed that intimidates F1 manufacturers comes from the
innovation cycle. Designs for the next
generation of cutting-edge F1 racers
are locked down more than the Crown
Jewels, a difficult task considering the
collaborative work environment s
and 24/7 global design cycle that has
been adopted today. Security is
pivotal, as even the best teams and drivers can face defeat if their winning formula
is compromised.
In order to have a sense of security,
teams need full visibility into what endpoints and information employees are
using and accessing in their workflow.
Speed is key in all aspects of the F1 industry, but protection of intellectual
property is now also taking centre stage.

The 2007 F1 alleged espionage controversy, known as Spygate, was a sore spot
for the sport and, to avoid reliving such
incidents, F1 teams across the board
have taken steps to protect their
invaluable data on and off the track.
Teams have set up shops that concentrate on secrecy. Projects are isolated and
engineers cordoned off to work in total
privacy. External hackers naturally pose
a danger but, if history is any indicator,
teams must also rule out a more subtle
liability: insider threats. Its much easier
for a well-connected member of staff to
pass on sensitive information than many
organisations realise.
In light of this, like all F1 teams,
Williams is now protecting against
security threats by turning to security companies such as Dtex Systems,
a company that provides a comprehensive view across their entire
network. F1 races can be won or
lost on details, including materials
used, fuelling times and chassis build,
and not having control over these details could mean the end to a potentially
successful season.

Our software provides a

simple way for companies to
monitor and react to potential
security breaches by employees
the moment the threat emerges
HOW TO DEFEND
The idea of staff posing a threat isnt
a pleasant one, but businesses need
to take it seriously. A recent study by
Vormetric revealed 89 per cent
of companies believe they are at
risk from an insider threat and 55
per cent say their biggest threat
is privileged users. One in three felt extremely vulnerable.
Counteracting the danger is not easy.
Staff can be locked out of sensitive
zones, but this is no guarantee. When Edward Snowden breached security at the
US National Security Agency, he
used two dozen borrowed passwords
to gain access to files beyond his
official authorisation. Besides, staff may
be legitimately working on the data.

tive Mike ODriscoll, the skilled former

managing director of luxury car manufacturer Jaguar.
To boost Williams chances on track,
wenty years ago, British
racers Williams were the their existing young driver Valtteri
Formula 1 team to beat, Bottas was paired with the more expehaving lifted titles with rienced Felipe Massa, who came from
superstar drivers such as Nigel Mansell Ferrari where he missed out on the
and Damon Hill. Since then the teams championship by just one point in 2008.
performance has sharply reversed, but The Brazilian remained with Ferrari for
a series of smart decisions has boosted a further five years, making the podium
Williams chances. So much so that F1 36 times and winning 11 races.
chief executive Bernie Ecclestone says
ODriscoll also made a significant
they are now the biggest challenger appointment to Williams engineerto last years champions Mercedes. It is ing department in July 2013 when Pat
no exaggeration.
Symonds, who has worked on four
Williams was founded in 1977 by team championship-winning F1 cars, became
principal Sir Frank Williams and former the teams chief technical officer.
engineering director
It was too late for
Patrick Head. The
Symonds to have an
team went on to win
impact on the 2013
Bernie Ecclestone
nine championships,
car, so he instead
says Williams are
making them the
focused his attensecond most successtion on the following
now the biggest
year. This offered a
ful outfit in F1, but
challenger to last
greater opportunity
Williams title-winyears champions
for improvement due
ning days are little
to the introduction
more than a distant
Mercedes
of new regulations
memory now.
which replaced F1s
Williams last won
2.4-litre V8 engines
the championship in
1997 and just a decade later had slipped with 1.6-litre V6 turbos. It levelled the
to fourth in the standings. The worst playing field as none of the teams had
was yet to come. The teams results hit experience of the new engines. Wila record low in 2011 when they finished liams chose to get theirs from Mercedes
in ninth place with just five points. Two and it turned out to be a shrewd move.
years later Williams did no better, but
Williams finished 2014 in third place
took four decisive steps to turn its per- with Bottas and Massa scoring 320
points. At the Austrian Grand Prix, they
formance around.
The first came in March when Sir gave Williams its first front-row lock-out
Franks daughter Claire was promoted in qualifying since 2003 and improved
from marketing director into the role on this at the season-ender in Abu Dhabi
of deputy team principal. She knows when the duo delivered the teams first
the team from the ground up and soon double podium since 2005. Massa was
put this knowledge to good use. Three on the podium three times last year,
months later she was joined on the while Bottas scored six and finished
board by Williams new chief execu- in fourth place in the drivers champiCHRISTIAN SYLT AND KATE HEWITT

The Dtex solution allows employees

to work unimpeded, but sound the alarm
when anything suspicious is noted within the network. It works by observing
user activity through micro-agents installed at the end-points, while refraining
from gathering personal data from
end-users. Through Dtex, Williams can
keep an eye on the programs being
used and the data being accessed and
transferred across the company, and
do so in a way that adheres to the
strictest privacy laws. Algorithms then
anal y s e ac tion s for p otentiall y
threatening or risky behaviour.
For example, if an employee does
something out of the ordinary, such as
transferring design data to a removable
USB drive, copying folders or straying
into areas of the IT system where they
do not usually venture, Dtex will flag the
incident for review. The algorithms
are highly sophisticated; they create a
baseline of user behaviour and can report on sudden changes in behaviour as
well as more subtle behaviour changes
over time, such as a user deciding to leave
the organisation.
The Dtex package comes pre-loaded
with more than 330 behavioural events
that can trigger an alert. Dtex managing
director for Europe, the Middle East and
Africa, Michael Cloete, says: Our software provides a simple way for companies
to monitor and react to potential
breaches by employees the moment
the threat emerges. Unlike traditional
methods, our algorithms provide a way
to detect irregular events, such as staff
accessing rare data or frequently
returning to highly sensitive materials.
Tracking user behaviour has a string of
additional benefits.
Since Dtex compiles statistics on program usage, the solution can be used
to determine whether software licences
are being used to the full. One customer
saved hundreds of thousands of pounds
by using Dtex to audit software usage,
resulting in a large number of redundant
licences being terminated.
The ability to monitor and understand
employee behaviour better has an obvi-

ous application for the financial services

industry, where firms are feeling increasing pressure to spot unethical behaviour
before it becomes a serious concern.
Dtex gives compliance officers a powerful way to monitor the behaviour of thousands of employees at once, using an
intuitive interface.
AGE OF ALGORITHMS
The technology at work is surprisingly
mature. Dtex Systems was founded in
2000 to develop security for the Australian government. Now headquartered in
San Jose, California, the firm raised $15
million to cope with rising demand for
its services. Mr Cloete explains: We are
helping global firms understand the need
to take action against insider threats and
recognise that algorithm-based systems
are much more accurate in defending
against behaviours which are extremely
hard to detect.
In Europe, Dtex has adapted to the rigorous EU privacy compliance laws. Since
Dtex anonymises user data, IT security
will see suspicious behaviour tied to User
17 rather than John Smith. Only when a
breach is believed to have occurred can
a request for identification be processed.
The solution only collects metadata no
keystroke logging or screenshots to add
an additional layer of user privacy.
Ease of implementation has been key
to adoption. Dtex is quick to deploy and is
so lightweight that there is no noticeable
impact on the user end-point and network.
Threats can be assessed using a chartbased graphical user interface, which IT
administrators can learn quickly without
any prior technical knowledge.
Companies need to take insider
threats seriously, says Mr Cloete. With
the right tools they can be sure they
are protected against the most sophisticated dangers.
For Williams, the adoption of Dtex
means it can work with partners knowing
it is doing all it can to safeguard data.
Want to learn more about understanding employee behaviour and mitigate
the insider threat?
Visit dtexsystems.com

onship. All that eluded the team was a

victory, but that may not be far off.
The improvement is a combination
of four main things, says Claire Williams. Obviously the technical personnel we recruited have been a key driver
in that transition, all led by Pat. There
was some great talent in the business,
but I think we were missing that kind
of senior management team across the
engineering group as a whole.
So bringing in those people and
obviously making the change to the
Mercedes power unit has been a contributing factor as has bringing in Felipe

HAAS
CHRISTIAN SYLT

here is a saying in Formula 1 that

the quickest way to become
a millionaire is to start in the
sport as a billionaire. Future F1
team owner Gene Haas is doing all he can
to stop that from happening.
Haas is the founder of machine tools
business Haas Automation and will next
year launch an F1 team which he hopes
will drive marketing and double his
sales to $2 billion annually. His strategy
so far has been highly prudent.
F1s governing body the Fdration
Internationale de lAutomobile accepted Haas bid in April 2014, but he
resisted the temptation to accelerate
plans and debut this year. It was a wise
move as the teams are still getting used
to new engine regulations which were
introduced last year and shook up the
running order.

Massa. He is a guy with huge experience

in F1 that has helped drive development
of the car and also galvanised the team.
It sent a very clear message out to the
team that we meant business by signing
a driver of his calibre.
At Ferrari, Massa worked alongside
some of F1s most famous names including Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Rikknen. It
complements Bottas who burst on to
the racing scene in 2008 when he won
12 out of the 14 races he competed in
junior series Formula Renault 2.0 NEC.
He later moved up to GP3 where he won

four races before coming to the attention of Williams.

Their success has had a noticeable
effect on Williams finances as the team
has secured more new sponsorship
than any other F1 team over the past
year. Its tally of new partners comes to
an estimated $54.5 million and includes
Brazilian oil company Petrobras, Unilevers deodorant brand Rexona and now
British Telecom. The new signings are
crowned by drinks brand Martini which
became the teams title sponsor in 2014.
Williams says it was the final factor in
the teams resurgence.

Likewise, Haas didnt put in offers to

buy either Caterham or Marussia, the
two teams that went into administration
last year. His reasoning was their businesses cannot be flawless if they have
hit the wall, so it is better to start afresh.
Instead, he saved money by snapping up
the teams assets, including Marussias
factory, when they went up for auction.
Haas is even on track to make savings
from a new regulation which comes into
force this year and allows teams to buy
more parts than before from established
F1 marques. This reduces start-up costs
and it has already proven to be a successful template for the F1 newcomers.
Haas co-owns the Stewart-Haas Racing
team in F1s American rival NASCAR,
and buys the engine and chassis from
other manufacturers.
Our perspective on it is that we have
only just got on this train and are trying
to figure out what everybody is doing.
We certainly dont want to spend a huge

amount of money, but at the same time

it is kind of out of our control, he says.
One of his biggest single expenses so
far has been the payment of an estimated 25 million to Ferrari for his teams
engines next year. It will be known as
Haas Formula and will be run by Guenther Steiner, a former technical director of four-time F1 champions Red Bull
Racing. The billion-dollar question is
whether the F1 venture will be able to
boost the sales of Haas Automation
and timing could be crucial.
F1 is in the middle of global expansion
which saw a race in Russia added to the
calendar last year followed by one in
Mexico this November with Azerbaijan
joining in 2016. It highlights the point
of view that this is really an international sport, says Haas. You have all these
countries that want Formula 1 to show
up and think highly enough of it that
they would like to have a Formula 1 race
in their city. I like that.

F1

NEW ENGINES have boosted

sponsorship says Williams

>>> BUSINESS

F1

By Christian Sylt and Kate Hewitt

Claire Williams, deputy team boss of the
Williams Formula One team, has revealed
that its sponsorship budget has been boosted
by brands choosing the series as a result of
the more environmentally-friendly engines it
introduced last year.
The 2.4 litre V8s, which have been standard
since 2006, were replaced with 1.6-litre V6 turbos.
Gone was the distinctive howling sound that F1
had become famous for and along with it went
F1s status quo.
Red Bull Racing, which had won the title for
four years on the run with Renault-powered cars,
was dethroned by Mercedes with Britains Lewis
Hamilton at the wheel. The other big beneficiary
was Williams which raced up the standings from
ninth in 2013 to third last year thanks in part to its
choice of Mercedes engines. The new regulations
levelled the playing field as no teams had
experience of the new engines. It wasnt the only
benefit they brought.
The changes were made for the right reasons,
says Williams. From my perspective as a
commercial director, the change in the engine
regulations has definitely alleviated pressure
talking to companies that look at Formula One
as a sport and are put off by the environmental
questions around it.
Testimony to this, Williams has secured more
new sponsorship than any other F1 team over the
past year. Its tally of new partners comes to an
estimated $54.5m and is crowned by drinks brand
Martini which became the teams title sponsor in
2014. It is joined by Brazilian oil company Petrobras,
Unilevers deodorant brand Rexona and British
Telecom which signed up earlier this month as a
strategic technology partner. Williams says the new
engines still hold even more potential.
I think we need to tell the story around these
new engines. I think we still need to be telling
that story. I dont think it is a story that has been
told enough yet and I think that would do us more
favour if we did. But I do believe that from an
environmental perspective it was the right way to
go, she explained.

PARTNERS:

>>> BUSINESS

In all likelihood, Williams is the best-positioned

team in F1 at the moment both on track and off.
Founded in 1977 by former engineering director
Patrick Head and Williams father and boss of the
team, Sir Frank Williams, it went on to become
F1s second-most successful outfit. The team has
collected nine titles but last won the championship
in 1997, taking both titles with Jacques Villeneuve.
Since then it has dropped down the standings
reaching a joint record low in 2013 when it finished
in ninth place with just five points.
Williams knows the team better than almost
anyone else and has come into her own since
she was promoted from marketing director into
the role of deputy team boss in 2013. She has
overseen the recent return to its glory days and
was instrumental in putting the pieces in place for
it over the past five years.
After a disappointing 2013, Williams and her
team reassembled the following year to become
the dark horse of the season. A measly five points
in the previous year turned into 320 in the next,
including multiple appearances on the podium.
New engines and sponsors are some of the
most recent steps, but the foundations for them
began back in 2011 when the team was floated
on Frankfurts junior exchange. It gave Williams
something which no other team has to this day:
financial transparency on an open market.
Its the transparency piece that works for us,
says Williams. I was always quite doubtful about
floating the business. I was thinking how is this
going to work after years of Frank and Patrick?
Actually it works so much better for us because
Formula One doesnt necessarily have that
transparency across the board.
It has a market capitalisation of $144.6m and a
total of 20% of the shares are listed whilst 3% are
held by an employee trust, 5% are in the hands
of former director Toto Wolff and 20% are split
equally between Head and American investor Brad
Hollinger. The remaining 52% is owned by Sir Frank
so it is still essentially a family business. It gives
sponsors comfort that their money is not being
absorbed by a multi-national owner which doesnt
really need it.
Adding to this halo effect is the fact that, unlike

GPWEEK.com // 26

F1

some F1 teams, Williams is not known

for excessive spending. In fact, it has
proven that it is prepared to tighten its
belt a strategy which is common in
most businesses but almost unheard of
in F1 where teams usually spend all the
revenue at their disposal in an attempt
to win on track. Williams is the glowing
exception.
Last year it sold its hybrid power
division, which makes a flywheel
used in F1s energy recovery systems.
Automotive and aerospace components
firm GKN paid $11m for it and this wasnt
the only boost that Williams got last
year. It also closed its Qatar Technology
Centre for a UK relocation. This gleaming
new facility was opened by Britains
prime minister David Cameron in July
last year but it is far from a vanity project.
It is already home to work on two key
partnerships: one with Nismo, the
performance orientated brand of Nissan,
and the other with electric racing series
Formula E, which uses batteries made by
Williams.
The other major boost to Williams
last year came as a result of departing

PARTNERS:

Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado who

left the team after a difficult 2013 season.
This was a bad decision for Maldonado
as he joined Lotus, which finished in just
eighth place last year.
It was a different story for Williams as
not only did it get rid of a driver who was
famed for his spectacular crashes, but it
ended up with a boost to its bank balance.
This is because Maldonado's chief
sponsor, the state-backed oil company
PDVSA, funded an estimated $20m early
termination fee of his five-year contract.
It was reflected in Williams 2013
results, which showed a 22.1m increase
in its F1 income compared to the previous
year. Its overall revenue accelerated 2.7%
to 130.4m leaving net profits of 12m.
This is some feat given that most F1
teams make a loss in a bid to win on track.
As one of only three teams in F1 which
has never changed its name Williams has
consistency as well as heritage which
helps to attract both the top partners and
drivers.
To turnaround Williams fortunes on
track its existing young driver Valtteri
Bottas was paired last year with the more

experienced Felipe Massa who came

from Ferrari where he missed out on the
championship by just one point in 2008.
Despite the loss, the Brazilian remained
with Ferrari for a further five years getting
on the podium 36 times and winning 11
races.
Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso
and Kimi Rikknen are just some of
F1s most famous names that worked
alongside Felipe Massa during at his
time at Ferrari. It complements Bottas
who burst on to the racing scene in 2008
when he won 12 out of the 14 races he
competed in the junior series Formula
Renault 2.0 NEC. He later moved up to
GP3 where he won four races before
coming to the attention of Williams.
Another significant appointment
came courtesy of Williams skilled
chief executive Mike ODriscoll, the
former managing director of luxury car
manufacturer Jaguar. In July 2013 he
hired Pat Symonds, who has worked on
four championship-winning F1 cars, as
Williams chief technical officer. He gave
the team the engineering horsepower
that it so badly needed.

Everybody knows Pats

accomplishments and that he is a proven
championship winner, says Williams.
Developing that race car has been the
road map for us since Pat joined. He has
got a very clearly defined path and there
is room for improvement. Mercedes has
obviously done such an amazing job but
I dont believe they are unbeatable and it
is up to us to take the challenge to them
as every other team on the grid will be
doing.
The new blood is the driving force
behind this. People are what keep your
team going and make you win races,
says Williams. There has been a real shift
in energy and atmosphere having seen
the changes management have made
have an impact on peoples approach
and revitalise peoples efforts within the
team. You think actually we can do this,
we can get this done, we can win races
again. That is a real motivating force.
The success itself is a real driver. It has
a snowball effect. This was apparent
throughout last season.
In 2014 Williams finished ahead of its
better-funded rivals Ferrari and McLaren

>>> BUSINESS

and got closer to Mercedes than any

other team, give or take the advances of
Red Bull Racing. At the Austrian Grand
Prix Bottas and Massa gave Williams its
first front row lock-out in qualifying since
2003. The duo improved on this at the
season-ender in Abu Dhabi when they
delivered the teams first double podium
since 2005. Massa was on the podium
three times last year whilst Bottas scored
six.
We have got greater ambitions than
finishing P3 in the championship. The
goal is to produce a car that is capable
of challenging for a championship, says
Williams.
She says that this will be achieved
through improvements across the board.
It has got to be an overall package. But it
is not necessarily just to do with the car
itself either, it is the whole team from
personnel and operations. We have to
be operating in a different way than we
have been in the past few years where
mistakes could be made two years ago
when they didnt matter because we
werent competing at that level. Now
everything counts.

GPWEEK.com // 27

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NewF1EnginesHaveBoostedSponsorshipSaysWilliamsForbes

http://onforb.es/1CrW8xG
ChristianSyltContributor

Iwriteaboutthebusinessofautoracingandthemeparks
OpinionsexpressedbyForbesContributorsaretheirown.

SPORTSMONEY

3/17/2015@12:19PM 3,110views

NewF1EnginesHaveBoosted
SponsorshipSaysWilliams
CommentNow

ClaireWilliams,deputybossoftheWilliamsFormulaOneteam,has
revealedthatitssponsorshipbudgethasbeenboostedbybrandschoosing
theseriesasaresultofnewenvironmentallyfriendlyengineswriteKate
HewittandChristianSylt.
LastyearF1switchedits2.4literV8enginesforsmaller1.6literV6turbos.
GonewasthedistinctivehowlingsoundthatF1hadbecomefamousforand
alongwithitwentthestatusquo.
RedBullRacing,whichhadwontheF1titleforfouryearsontherunwith
Renaultpoweredcars,wasdethronedbyMercedeswithBritainsLewis
Hamiltonatthewheel.TheotherbigbeneficiarywasWilliamswhichraced
upthestandingsfromninthin2013tothirdlastyearthanksinparttoits
choiceofMercedesengines.Thenewregulationslevelledtheplayingfieldas
noteamshadexperienceoftheV6.Itwasnttheonlybenefitthenew
enginesbrought.
Thechangesweremadefortherightreasons,saysWilliams.Frommy
perspectiveasacommercialdirector,thechangeintheengineregulations
hasdefinitelyalleviatedpressuretalkingtocompaniesthatlookatFormula
Oneasasportandareputoffbytheenvironmentalquestionsaroundit.
Testimonytothis,Williamshassecuredmorenewsponsorshipthanany
otherF1teamoverthepastyear.Itstallyofnewpartnerscomestoan
estimated$54.5millionandiscrownedbydrinksbrandMartiniwhich
becametheteamstitlesponsorin2014.ItisjoinedbyBrazilianoilcompany
Petrobras,UnileversdeodorantbrandRexonaandBritishTelecomwhich
signedupearlierthismonthasastrategictechnologypartner.Williamssays
thenewenginesstillholdevenmorepotential.
Ithinkweneedtotellthestoryaroundthesenewengines.Ithinkwestill
needtobetellingthatstory.Idontthinkitisastorythathasbeentold
enoughyetandIthinkthatwoulddousmorefavourifwedid.ButIdo
believethatfromanenvironmentalperspectiveitwastherightwaytogo,
sheexplains.
Inalllikelihood,WilliamsisthebestpositionedteaminF1atthemoment
bothontrackandoff.
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NewF1EnginesHaveBoostedSponsorshipSaysWilliamsForbes

Foundedin1977byformerengineeringdirectorPatrickHeadandWilliams
fatherandbossoftheteam,SirFrankWilliams,itwentontobecomeF1s
secondmostsuccessfuloutfit.Theteamhascollectedninetitlesbutlastwon
thechampionshipin1997whereWilliamswonboththeteamsanddrivers
championshipswithCanadasJacquesVilleneuve.Sincethenithasdropped
downthestandingsreachingajointrecordlowin2013whenitfinishedin
ninthplacewithjustfivepoints.
Williamsknowstheteambetterthanalmostanyoneelseandhascomeinto
herownsinceshewaspromotedfrommarketingdirectorintotheroleof
deputyteambossin2013.Shehasoverseentherecentreturntoitsglory
daysandwasinstrumentalinputtingthepiecesinplaceforitoverthepast
fiveyears.
Afteradisappointing2013,Williamsandherteamreassembledthe
followingyeartobecomethedarkhorseoftheseason.Ameaslyfivepoints
inthepreviousyearturnedinto320inthenext,includingmultiple
appearancesonthepodium.
Newenginesandsponsorsaresomeofthemostrecentsteps,butthe
foundationsforthembeganbackin2011whentheteamwasfloatedon
Frankfurtsjuniorstockexchange.ItgaveWilliamssomethingwhichno
otherteamhastothisday:financialtransparencyonanopenmarket.
Itsthetransparencypiecethatworksforus,saysWilliams.Iwasalways
quitedoubtfulaboutfloatingthebusiness.Iwasthinkinghowisthisgoing
toworkafteryearsofFrankandPatrick?Actuallyitworkssomuchbetter
forusbecauseFormulaOnedoesntnecessarilyhavethattransparency
acrosstheboard.
Theteamhasamarketcapitalisationof$144.6mandatotalof20%ofits
sharesarelistedwhilst3%areheldbyanemployeetrust,5%areinthe
handsofformerdirectorTotoWolffand20%aresplitequallybetweenHead
andAmericaninvestorBradHollinger.Theremaining52%isownedbySir
Franksoitisstillessentiallyafamilybusiness.Itgivessponsorscomfortthat
theirmoneyisnotbeingabsorbedbyamultinationalownerwhichdoesnt
reallyneedit.
Addingtothisimageisthefactthat,unlikesomeF1teams,Williamsisnot
knownforexcessivespending.Infact,ithasproventhatitispreparedto
tightenitsbeltastrategywhichiscommoninmostbusinessesbutalmost
unheardofinF1whereteamsusuallyspendalltherevenueattheirdisposal
inanattempttowinontrack.Williamsistheglowingexception.
Lastyearitsolditshybridpowerdivisionwhichmakesaflywheelusedin
F1senergyrecoverysystems.Automotiveandaerospacecomponentsfirm
GKNpaid$11millionforitandthiswasnttheonlyboostthatWilliamsgot
in2014.ItalsocloseditsQatarTechnologyCentreforaUKrelocation.This
gleamingnewfacilitywasopenedbyBritainsprimeministerDavid
CameroninJulybutitisfarfromavanityproject.Itisalreadyhometowork
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ontwokeypartnerships:onewithNismo,theperformancebrandofNissan,
andtheotherwithelectricracingseriesFormulaE,whichusesbatteries
madebyWilliams.
TheothermajorboostWilliamsgotlastyearcameasaresultofdeparting
VenezuelandriverPastorMaldonadowholefttheteamafteradifficult2013
season.ThiswasabaddecisionforMaldonadoashejoinedLotuswhich
finishedinjusteighthplacelastyear.
ItwasadifferentstoryforWilliamsasnotonlydiditgetridofadriverwho
wasfamedforhisspectacularcrashes,butitscashinthebankaccelerated.
ThisisbecauseMaldonadoschiefsponsor,thestatebackedoilcompany
PDVSA,fundedanestimated$20millionearlyterminationfeeofhisfive
yearcontract.
ItwasreflectedinWilliams2013resultswhichshoweda$36.4million
increaseinitsF1incomecomparedtothepreviousyear.Itsoverallrevenue
accelerated2.7%to$215millionleavingnetprofitsof$19.8million.Thisis
somefeatgiventhatmostF1teamsmakealossinabidtowinontrack.
AsoneofonlythreeteamsinF1whichhasneverchangeditsnameWilliams
hasconsistencyaswellasheritagewhichhelpstoattractboththetop
partnersanddrivers.
ToturnaroundWilliamsfortunesontrackitsexistingyoungdriverValtteri
BottaswaspairedlastyearwiththemoreexperiencedFelipeMassawho
camefromFerrariwherehemissedoutonthechampionshipbyjustone
pointin2008.Despitetheloss,theBrazilianremainedwithFerrarifora
furtherfiveyearsgettingonthepodium36timesandwinning11races.
MichaelSchumacher,FernandoAlonsoandKimiRaikkonenarejustsomeof
F1smostfamousnamesthatworkedalongsideFelipeMassaduringathis
timeatFerrari.HecomplementsBottaswhoburstontotheracingscenein
2008whenhewon12outofthe14raceshecompetedinthejuniorseries
FormulaRenault2.0NEC.HelatermoveduptoGP3wherehewonfour
racesbeforecomingtotheattentionofWilliams.
AnothersignificantappointmentcamecourtesyofWilliamsskilledchief
executiveMikeODriscoll,theformermanagingdirectorofluxurycar
manufacturerJaguar.InJuly2013hehirednewchieftechnicalofficerPat
SymondswhohasworkedonfourchampionshipwinningF1cars.Symonds
gavetheteamtheengineeringhorsepowerthatitsobadlyneeded.
EverybodyknowsPatsaccomplishmentsandthatheisaproven
championshipwinner,saysWilliams.Developingthatracecarhasbeen
theroadmapforussincePatjoined.Hehasgotaveryclearlydefinedpath
andthereisroomforimprovement.Mercedeshasobviouslydonesuchan
amazingjobbutIdontbelievetheyareunbeatableanditisuptoustotake
thechallengetothemaseveryotherteamonthegridwillbedoing.

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NewF1EnginesHaveBoostedSponsorshipSaysWilliamsForbes

Thenewbloodisthedrivingforcebehindthis.Peoplearewhatkeepyour
teamgoingandmakeyouwinraces,saysWilliams.Therehasbeenareal
shiftinenergyandatmospherehavingseenthechangesmanagementhave
madehaveanimpactonpeoplesapproachandrevitalisepeoplesefforts
withintheteam.Youthinkactuallywecandothis,wecangetthisdone,we
canwinracesagain.Thatisarealmotivatingforce.Thesuccessitselfisa
realdriver.Ithasasnowballeffect.Thiswasapparentthroughoutlast
season.
In2014WilliamsfinishedaheadofitsbetterfundedrivalsFerrariand
McLarenandgotclosertoMercedesthananyotherteam,giveortakethe
advancesofRedBullRacing.AttheAustrianGrandPrixBottasandMassa
gaveWilliamsitsfirstfrontrowlockoutinqualifyingsince2003.Theduo
improvedonthisattheseasonenderinAbuDhabiwhentheydeliveredthe
teamsfirstdoublepodiumsince2005.Massawasonthepodiumthree
timeslastyearwhilstBottasscoredsix.
WehavegotgreaterambitionsthanfinishingP3inthechampionship.The
goalistoproduceacarthatiscapableofchallengingforachampionship,
saysWilliams.
Shesaysthatthiswillbeachievedthroughimprovementsacrosstheboard.
Ithasgottobeanoverallpackage.Butitisnotnecessarilyjusttodowiththe
caritselfeither,itisthewholeteamfrompersonnelandoperations.Wehave
tobeoperatinginadifferentwaythanwehavebeeninthepastfewyears
wheremistakescouldbemadetwoyearsagowhentheydidntmatter
becausewewerentcompetingatthatlevel.Noweverythingcounts.

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