The facts : A big page in Formula 1 turned last Sunday with the death of Sir Frank Williams at the age of 79. Pillar of the highest category for more than five decades, the British perfectly embodied the figure of the independent who had become a monster and capable of showing it to anyone. Do the modest results collected by the Williams team prior to its acquisition by an American investment firm in 2020 show that this kind of promotion is now impossible?
Yes, by Julien Billiotte
Sir Frank, it was old-fashioned F1, an extreme sport, fanciful, ridiculous, politically incorrect, but a lot of fun. A blessed time when engines howled to blow your eardrums; a golden age in which we did not ask ourselves whether to manage the tires, the fuel or the egos of the whole planet; a time that those under 20 cannot know, when boys had big mustaches and big mouths. Be polite. Since 1997 and the last titles won by Williams (double Driver-Constructor with Jacques Villeneuve), the world has changed. Our favorite discipline too. Nostalgic? A little, obviously. With Sir Frank died not only the main team that will have remained in office the longest (739 Grands Prix at the helm between 1977 and 2020), but also the last true independent on the grid, even if the Grove team (UK) it has always been able to rely on strong engine associations (Honda, Renault, BMW, Toyota and even Mercedes).
Before Williams, other glorious alumni – Lotus, Brabham, Ligier and other Tyrrells – had disappeared in body and soul after struggling at the back of the grid for several seasons. A sad epilogue that the stable in Grove (UK) may have known, turned into a shadow of itself in recent years as its model became increasingly obsolete amid much better equipped factory structures. Even American businessman Gene Haas, who entered the abyss in 2016, did so on the basis of close technical collaboration with Ferrari. The acquisition of Williams by the American company Dorilton Capital in 2020 will have allowed Sir Frank to leave his illustrious surname for posterity. But this transfer of the baton, and the withdrawal of the Williams family from a universe that absorbed its entire figurehead for more than 50 years, already had a strong symbolic value. Sir Frank will have survived just over a year of this F1 that he loved so much and for which he willingly sacrificed most of his life. Quite a symbol. Having become franchises more or less subordinate to the commercial rights holder, the stables no longer have much to do with the initiatives of passionate and resourceful artisans that were once commonplace. In other words, today it would be difficult to see the emergence of a new Sir Frank.
NO, by Alexis Plisson
It is customary to always say that before was better, in a form of backwardness and nostalgia that has invaded society for far too long. It is true that it is a human and natural feeling, but we must always stop seeing evolution and modernity with a negative eye. Yes, the death of a pioneer of the importance of Frank Williams marks a symbolic turning point, at a time when F1 continues to evolve and reinvent itself. Yes, the current period is far from perfect, but don’t we always tend to glorify the past through automatism? At a time when two drivers from two different teams are locked in a daunting fight for the world crown, should it be remembered that the gaps between participants have never been so narrow and the suspense so strong?
The F1 of today has nothing to envy to the one of yesteryear. And vice versa. They are simply different. Furthermore, Formula 1, which for too long retained the image of a sport huddled in on itself, would have been wrong had it not opened up to the world. The Netflix series “Drive to Survive” has transformed its audience considerably and it is no coincidence that 400,000 viewers gathered at the United States Grand Prix last October. We won’t go so far as to talk about sprinting, which has its fervent fans and opponents, but we will agree that this new format dusts off Formula 1. Frank Williams was seen as the last of the “mechanics.” , embodied a man who wanted to stay away from the big fish, to keep control of his boat, even when the weather was tough. His legacy will be etched in the Formula 1 paddocks like many key figures in the beautiful history of the sport. F1 is living with the times and we should be happy about it. Furthermore, was it not Sir Frank himself who said the following in 2006: “The world of Formula 1 is constantly evolving. It is much better to understand it, accept it and always try to get ahead ”.
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