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F1 News & Discussions => General F1 Discussion => Topic started by: Monty on March 07, 2019, 09:16:47 AM

Title: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: Monty on March 07, 2019, 09:16:47 AM
Is this an admission that he (and therefore Williams) have got it all wrong again, or does he genuinely have some other problem.
I feared that he wasn't really good enough (Mercedes let him go too easily and nobody ever said that he was a great loss) but, because I love Williams, I really wanted him to succeed!
I do not wish him ill but I really hope that he is standing down for some external reason and not because he has overseen another Williams failure!
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: Calman on March 07, 2019, 04:32:14 PM
I personally feel that it all boils down to the level of hard work Paddy put in at Williams, with no results to show for it .. and the pressure by fans/media for him to step down, is ultimately the reason he is at this point now.  Like others, I sincerely hope it's not coinciding with some kind of health issue, but I think it's purely business sense?

Best Regards,
Cal :)
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: Alonsofan on March 07, 2019, 05:23:53 PM
Maybe he just isn't cut out for the job  :DntKnw:
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: guest3164 on March 07, 2019, 06:24:58 PM
I had exceptionally high hopes for Paddy Lowe and unfortunately all that has happened is under his leadership the team went from 6th to plum last and it looks like more of the same this season.  Getting a car late to testing doesn't build confidence either.  Other people blame Claire Williams, she is just the person who appoints those who build the car and I feel she has done a good job, she has certainly appointed those who you would think would be the right people.

Maybe the team needs a hard reset now. 

If anyone at Williams is reading...  I'm available!  And I would work for half of Paddy's salary.  ;)
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: Calman on March 07, 2019, 06:50:37 PM
From what I've seen and read over the years, Paddy always struck me as a very decent, quiet & respectable individual, so this outcome at a fragile time for Williams, well, it's very unfortunate.  It doesn't seem that long ago since Bottas joined Williams alongside Massa - at a point where Williams were frequently challenging for podium results.

Best Regards,
Cal :)
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: Scott on March 08, 2019, 03:06:09 PM
This will hurt Williams entire brand - Williams Advanced Engineering as well.  Doesn't sit very well if the company you are considering for your next project is struggling with engineering issues in F1.

I believe Williams needs to either close down, or sell - at least partially to a partner, or go to the banks and re-mortgage the whole entity and get the money to attract the absolute top talent. 

Ditch the pay drivers, hire a top Tech Director(probably Symonds, as he is the only experienced Tech Director available at the moment), and give him/them the time and resources to work out of the slump, probably at least a year if not two.
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: guest3164 on March 08, 2019, 04:11:23 PM
Symonds wouldn't be able to come back to Williams immediately though.  The other teams would go mad as he works for Brawn's posse of engineers so would give the team a potential heads up as to what is coming in the next set of technical regulations. 

Also, technically Williams only has one pay driver this year, and give it's Kubica it is not 'quite' the usual breed.  Russell deserves to be in F1 on merit.
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: Calman on March 08, 2019, 08:40:00 PM
Yes, you could emphasize Williams = Pay Drivers, when Stroll & Sirotkin were in the cockpit with their pots of money/sponsorship backing, but not this season with Robert & George.

Best Regards,
Cal :)
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: Scott on March 09, 2019, 04:15:22 PM
I thought Russell was bringing Merc money or some engine deal reduction, but I could be wrong.  However Kubica brings $25m in sponsorship with PKN ORLEN.  You can play games with the financial columns, but that is a pay driver in my opinion.
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: guest3164 on March 09, 2019, 05:47:24 PM
I do not doubt Kubica is a pay driver, but I will argue he is not in the same bracket as Maldonado, Stroll or Sirotkin. 

Russell may bring Merc 'perks' but could you seriously argue against the F2 Champion being in F1 this year?  He is a proper talent. 
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: Calman on March 10, 2019, 02:59:42 AM
In my opinion, a genuine "Pay Driver" suggests someone who is in a team with sponsorship backing & other pots of cash padding their placement, while being able to keep the car on the black stuff and little more.

Otherwise, of course there is typical sponsorship and money surrounding traditional talents in F1, but they are in a team due to talent first, everything else second.  So, in that comparison, both Russell & Kubica are sitting in a Williams car for the right reasons (regardless of the teams current woes).  I guess you could say "they are there on merit" .. as the old phrase goes!

Best Regards,
Cal :)
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: Willy on March 11, 2019, 01:20:38 PM
I feel the true issue with Williams is right at the top. Claire has to step down and let someone else take the reins.
She does not have the tools to ignite passion in her team. Have you heard her teams speeches?
She is in a position that has to inspire the entire staff and she has no idea how to do that. Frank had it but Frank is not that guy anymore. Williams needs to find that guy (or girl) and let them lead.
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: Monty on March 11, 2019, 02:25:00 PM
Quote
I feel the true issue with Williams is right at the top. Claire has to step down and let someone else take the reins.
She does not have the tools to ignite passion in her team. Have you heard her teams speeches?
She is in a position that has to inspire the entire staff and she has no idea how to do that. Frank had it but Frank is not that guy anymore. Williams needs to find that guy (or girl) and let them lead.
I'm not sure that I agree. The point is, Claire isn't 'at the top' - she is deputy team principle. Frank is 'at the top' and I feel he lost direction years ago when he started to resent his drivers when they started to get recognition (this goes back as far as Mansell and Hill). The team needs a few things; mostly money. But after money they need a brilliant designer. I know animals such as 'Newey' are incredibly rare but it has been the Newey's and the Head's that made small teams exceptional, not the team principles.
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: guest3164 on March 11, 2019, 02:32:04 PM
I think Claire has done a decent job for the most part, I don't blame her for this situation.  The Technical Director is the person who should be inspiring the mechanics and keeping a hand on that side of the team.  Claire in my mind is more commercially inclined and has done fairly well on that side, especially given the performance level of the team in recent seasons. 

I would like to have Pay Symonds back and maybe take a punt on some young designer as Monty says.  Paddy for whatever reason has overseen the team go from 5th to 10th and this season look even further off the pace.  Regardless of the engineers involvement, that is on him.  Until the car is sorted, there is zero point going after established drivers, none at all.  You will not get a decent, tested driver racing for the team at the back of the grid.  That is why the team has punted on Russell (no risk) and Kubica (some risk, but at least he has experience).   
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: Alianora La Canta on March 12, 2019, 06:29:07 AM
According to Dieter Rencken, who recently asked his sources at Williams about this, Frank Williams takes a great interest in proceedings but no longer has any authority at the team - when he gets involved, it's to help advise Claire or motivate a staff member who asks him for it. Though apparently the fact he more or less lives at the factory is itself motivating to the staff, who regardless of their feelings about Williams' current travails, admire him hugely.

I get the impression there has been something of a middle management collapse at Williams, and Paddy Lowe is better-suited to running things in a matrixed team such as Mercedes (or McLaren) rather than the sort of traditional linear leadership of Williams (or Red Bull, Racing Point or Alfa Romeo). My guess is that at Williams, he could have handled junior leadership (governing a few people, who he could meet personally) rather than handling layers of vertical management beneath him (which is what happens at the top of traditional teams). What the hiring people missed is that Paddy would not have learned the full set of skills needed at a traditional team (regardless of its championship position) at a matrixed team, even if said matrix won the championship.

The issue is with whoever did the hiring. Now, I'm sure Claire approved the choice of the hiring managers, but I don't know whether she does it personally or if she delegates that job. If it's the latter, she needs to have different people, more knowledgeable in the differences between teams, doing it. (I heard her brother Jonathan feels a bit sidelined in his current position. Perhaps having him check over all potential hires might be a good move, as I think he has some relevant knowledge if I recall correctly, and he certainly cares about the details). Maybe even make herself one of the hiring managers, if that helps keep her in the loop as to potential trouble and actions she may need to take to counter this. (An experienced Williams manager mentoring Paddy as to the differences between teams seems like something that should have happened and didn't).

If Claire is one of the hiring managers...
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: guest3164 on March 12, 2019, 07:29:09 AM
Having Claire and Jonathan even talk apparently is a harder task than making the FW42 a race winning car.  The two do not speak allegedly so there is next to no chance of them working together.  There is reportedly a lot of bitterness about Claire getting the top job and Jonathan being placed in the historic cars team.
Title: Re: Lowe takes ‘leave of absence’ from Williams
Post by: Alianora La Canta on March 18, 2019, 09:27:39 AM
I'm sure an alternative communication method could be established if the sibling tension is quite that bad. They must have some method of doing so now, even if messages between them currently have to go through 3 people, 2 computer systems and a partridge in a pitstop topiary bush.

Maybe it is too much to hope for that Claire and Jonathan can have a good relationship with each other, but that's no reason not to use their respective talents fully. Come on, lack of appropriate imagination looks like one of Williams' problems at the moment - some better-focused imagination could spark off something worthwhile.
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