BEYOND THE GRID: Claire Williams on life at her family’s F1 team and what she thinks of their recent charge up the order

When Claire Williams sold the Williams F1 team at the end of 2020, a very special 43-year association between the Williams family and Formula 1 came to an end.

Founded by Claire’s father, Sir Frank Williams, in 1977, the team have won 16 World Championships – a feat only bettered by Ferrari and McLaren.

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Claire joined the squad as a youngster and rose through the ranks, starting out as a Press Officer in 2002 and eventually becoming Deputy Team Principal in 2013.

Over eight seasons, she led the team to 15 podiums and two P3 finishes in the Teams’ Standings before she and her family left the sport.

Speaking to Beyond The Grid host Tom Clarkson, Claire talks about the ups and downs of her time in charge of Williams, whether she regrets selling the team, why her dad was her biggest role model, and what it takes to run an F1 operation.

Plus, you will hear the fascinating story of why she could not let rising star George Russell join Mercedes earlier in his career, and what she makes of the racer he is today.

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To listen to this week’s episode of Beyond The Grid, simply hit go on the audio player above or click here to listen via your preferred podcasting platform.

You can also check out a huge selection of previous episodes – spanning every decade of F1 – in our dedicated Beyond The Grid library here.

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