Does the death of Sir Frank Williams mark the death of a certain idea of ​​F1?

Facts : A huge page of the Formula 1 turned last Sunday with the death of Sir Frank Williams at the age of 79. Pillar of the premier category for more than five decades, the Briton perfectly embodied the figure of the independent who had become a juggernaut and capable of showing off anyone. Do the modest results gleaned by the Williams team before its takeover by an American investment company in 2020 prove that this type of rise is now impossible?

Yes, by Julien Billiotte 

Sir Frank was old-fashioned F1, an extreme, fanciful, ridiculous, politically incorrect, but oh-so-enjoyable sport. A blessed time when the engines screamed to burst your eardrums; a golden age where we did not ask ourselves the question of whether we should manage the tires, the fuel, or the egos of the entire planet; a time that those under 20 cannot know, where guys had big mustaches and big mouths. To remain polite. Since 1997 and the last titles won by Williams (Drivers-Constructors double with Jacques Villeneuve), the world has changed. Our favorite discipline too. Nostalgic ? A little, obviously. With Sir Frank, not only the main team that has remained in post the longest (739 Grands Prix at the helm between 1977 and 2020), but also the last true independent on the grid, even if the Grove team ( United Kingdom) has always been able to rely on solid engine partnerships (Honda, Renault, BMW, Toyota, or Mercedes).

Before Williams, other glorious veterans – Lotus, Brabham, Ligier, and other Tyrrells – had disappeared body and soul after surviving at the back of the grid for several seasons. A sad epilogue that could have been experienced by the Grove team (United Kingdom), which had become a shadow of itself in recent years as its model became more and more obsolete in the midst of disorganized structures. The factory is much better equipped. Even the American entrepreneur Gene Haas, which launched itself into the deep end in 2016, did so on the basis of close technical collaboration with Ferrari. The acquisition of Williams by the American company Dorilton Capital in 2020 will have allowed Sir Frank to leave his illustrious surname to posterity. But this passing of the baton, and the withdrawal of the Williams family from a universe which absorbed its entire figurehead for more than 50 years, already had a strong symbolic value. Sir Frank will have survived just over a year away from this F1 that he loved so much and for which he willingly sacrificed most of his life. Quite a symbol. Having become franchises more or less subservient to the holder of the commercial rights, the stables no longer have much to do with the initiatives of passionate and resourceful craftsmen which were once commonplace. In other words, today it would be difficult to see a new Sir Frank emerge.

NO, by Alexis Plisson 

It is customary to always say that things were better before, in a form of backwardness and nostalgia that has invaded society for far too long. Of course, it is a human and natural feeling, but we must stop always viewing evolution and modernity in a negative light. Yes, the death of a pioneer of the importance of Frank Williams marks a symbolic turning point, at a time when F1 continues to evolve and reinvent itself. Yes, the current period is far from perfect, but don't we tend to always automatically glorify the past? At a time when two drivers from two different teams are engaged in a daunting battle for the world crown, should we remember that the gaps between the participants have never been so narrow, and the suspense so strong?

The F1 of today has nothing to envy of that of yesteryear. And vice versa. They're just different. Moreover, Formula 1, which for too long has retained the image of a sport curled up on itself, would have been wrong not to open up to the world. The Netflix series “Drive to Survive” has considerably transformed its audience and it is no coincidence that 400 spectators gathered at the United States Grand Prix last October. We won't go so far as to talk about sprint races, which have their fervent supporters and opponents, but we will agree on the fact that this new format dusts off Formula 000. Frank Williams was seen as the last of the "garagists" , he played a man who wanted to stay away from big fish, to remain master of his ship, even when the weather was difficult. His legacy will remain engraved in the Formula 1 paddocks like many significant figures in the beautiful history of this sport. F1 lives with the times and we should be happy about that. Besides, wasn’t it Sir Frank himself who said the following in 1: “The world of Formula 1 is continually evolving. It’s much better to understand it, accept it and try to always stay ahead of it.”

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