Claire, the daughter of team co-founder Sir Frank, was awarded the honour in recognition of her services to Formula One.
“Today is a very proud day for me, but this is also a bit of a surprise,” Claire Williams said. “To be recognised in this way is a tremendous honour but one everyone at Williams can take credit for.
“I’m extremely lucky that I get to do a job that I love. To be able to play a role in a family legacy is an enormous privilege and one I don’t take for granted. Formula One, and Williams, are great success stories for the UK and I will continue to use my role to help showcase what a great sport Formula One is, what a brilliant platform for this country’s expertise in high class engineering it is, as well as a place that welcomes women across all of its disciplines.”
Since stepping into her Deputy Team Principal role, Claire has been instrumental in the successful restructuring of the Williams Group and has helped the F1 team achieve successive third place finishes in the constructors’ standings.
She has also used her position as a female in a traditionally male dominated industry to encourage more women to consider careers in engineering and technology. In addition to this, Claire has recently been appointed Vice President of the Spinal Injuries Association, a charity extremely close to her heart.
