Williams F1 have released their financial results for the 2018 season and it appears to show a team who are operating within their means, both profit and revenue increasing from the same period the previous year.
This is despite the team falling to their worst ever position in the 2018 Formula 1 championship with the team finishing last in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships for the first time in its illustrious 42 year history.
Williams’ revenue grew £5 million from £125.6m to £130.7m, with earnings levelling out at £16 million.
This was largely due to two consecutive fifth place finishes in F1 in 2016 and 2017 and a ‘non-recurring one-off item’ which, although I know very little about finance and the financing of a Formula 1 team I presume to be the injection of cash brought to the team as part of the deal to seat Sergey Sirotkin alongside Lance Stroll in 2018.
While this all sounds like good news for Williams, because the prize money is (amongst other things) dished out based on a team’s performance in the previous two seasons, Williams’ 2019 income is likely to be hit by last season’s poor performance, and again in 2020 by what is looking set to be another terrible year this year.
This suggests that troubled financial waters lie ahead for Williams unless the future version of Formula 1, to be introduced in 2021, is able to redistribute its spoils in a way that is kinder to teams at the back of the grid.
“There is a very large gap in competitive expenditure between the leading teams and the rest of the grid, but we are increasingly hopeful that Liberty Media’s long-term vision and plans for the future of the sport can deliver a more level playing field on which all teams can compete fairly.” said Williams CEO Mike O’Driscoll.
But for now, Williams are financially sound and it’s good news for everyone concerned.
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