Ralf Schumacher believes that the current deputy team principal Claire Williams should consider stepping down.
The German, who raced for the British outfit between 1999-2004, expressed his concerns after their difficult start to 2019, after a chaotic pre-season was followed by a woeful showing in the season-opener with both cars well off the pace in Melbourne.
Schumacher claimed that Williams was carrying on the methods of running the team that her father Frank used, a style which doesn’t work in modern-day Formula One.
“Williams has a very special leadership style. As long as Patrick Head was there it was balanced,” he was quoted by Motorsport-Total.com.
“It’s a style of leadership from the 70s and 80s, a bit of a reign of fear and terror. It’s a shame because I think people need to be motivated.
“With the current structure, Williams cannot get the best out of its employees, because there is no team cohesion.
“The engineers are working against each other more than with each other.”
Technical director Paddy Lowe has taken a leave of absence, and the fact that someone who has been successful with others teams still can’t fix Williams’ problems, is a sign that Claire should consider her position in Schumacher’s eyes.
“Unfortunately, Claire has kept her father’s habits, and she should certainly wonder if that is the right job for her,” he said.
“Perhaps Williams’ team management needs to be restructured.
“A man [Lowe] who has just been fired was very successful at other teams, and even he failed to put Williams back on track.
“That’s enough to start asking questions.”
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