Some Bits Of Williams Are '15-20 Years Out Of Date' Says New CFO

Wednesday, 03 January 2024 at 14:00

Pat Fry left Alpine to join Williams during the 2023 season. But he revealed when he came to the team, he found bits of the company that were 15-20 years out of date.

Pat Fry joined Williams in the role of Chief Technical Officer. He shared his excitement about the fact that the team's board is willing to invest in what it takes to rebuild an old British Icon F1 brand.

While the main goal is to win the Championship, Fry said his team needs to be breaking into the top three within two to four years.

A new era might be awaiting Williams with the arrival of its new team principal, James Vowles, and the new technical officer. On the other hand, there is a lot of rebuilding to do, as Fry told F1 Nation podcast:

"Some bits of the company are, if anything, better than where I’ve come from. There’s other bits that you could say are 15-20 years out of date."

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The positive thing is that the British team achieved its best result in six years and finished seventh in the Championship despite all the problems. It means there is a great upside potential.

"We certainly have got a lot of work to do. It’s not just the machinery or the tools, as such: it’s also the methodologies we use to actually design a car."

Alex Albon recently said he was excited to have Fry on the team as he saw areas in which the technical officer's expertise and mentorship might help the team significantly. The 59-year-old added:

"So we need to be thinking about all those and trying to move into the 21st Century of actually designing things."

Williams started focusing on its 2024 car as early as the 2023 season started, so we might expect to see some great progress from the British team. Do you think they could break into the top 5 this year?