Williams on hold until the end of May
Cost-cutting measures are increasing within the teams. Williams has now put a portion of its employees on part-time unemployment until the end of May, leaving little chance for the season to start in June.
Last week, McLaren announced partial furloughs and a reduction in its drivers’ salaries. Williams has now decided to do the same. The team’s executives, along with George Russell and Nicholas Latifi, have also decided to apply a 20% salary reduction for the period concerned.
The team specified that this measure would extend from April 1 to the end of May. The duration of this interruption raises further doubts about a season start in Canada, currently scheduled for June 12. Indeed, it seems unlikely that a team would be able to start a new season in less than two weeks after such a long interruption. Montreal seems even less realistic as a season opener as it is a transatlantic race, with all the logistics that entail.
This therefore positions France as a new candidate for a season start, but it must be noted that the 24 Hours of Le Mans, scheduled just a week before the French Grand Prix, have already been postponed to September. In other sports, the Wimbledon tournament, initially scheduled for July, has already been completely canceled.
The different teams are therefore going into survival mode as it is likely that television channels will follow the same strategy as in other sports, like football, where they block payments if the competitions are not broadcast.
With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr
