Billionaire not buying into Williams

Apr.14 - Williams has denied speculation a Canadian billionaire could soon buy into the British team.

The team's latest development driver is Lance Stroll, a 17-year-old Formula 3 star whose father is Lawrence Stroll, a fashion mogul who according to Forbes has a fortune totalling $2.4 billion.

But Williams CEO Mike O'Driscoll said: "I think we've got a really strong shareholder structure today and we haven't had conversations with either Lawrence or anyone else about investing in the team."

Team deputy Claire Williams, however, doesn't deny that Williams' driver plans for 2017 and beyond are completely open, as she predicts a particularly tumultuous 'silly season' later this year.

And Williams also does not rule out signing a so-called 'pay driver'.

"Is there something wrong with taking a driver who has talent and money?" she is quoted by the German broadcaster RTL. "It is double happiness.

"There seems to only be criticism when it is about some drivers," Williams added. "Alonso brings money, but does someone criticise a team when they take Alonso?

"Putting our two cars as far up the grid as possible week after week is always the top priority for us," Claire added.

"We will make our decision as a group when the time is right."

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Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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