Is Susie Wolff the perfect new team boss for Williams?

The winter break has so far been anything but dull. Binotto's departure from Ferrari has led to a real domino effect. Frederic Vasseur is leaving Alfa Romeo to take over Binotto's position at the Italian team, while Andreas Seidl is leaving McLaren for Sauber as the company's CEO. Andrea Stella has been appointed as the new boss of the British team. Williams also has to say goodbye to team boss Capito, who may be heading to Alfa Romeo to take over from Vasseur.

The question now is who is the perfect candidate for Williams. The team has been racing at the back of the field for seasons and there has been little improvement. Among fans and in the British media, Susie Wolff' s name has been mentioned several times. After looking at her CV, it becomes clear that Wolff has the necessary experience to lead an F1 team.

Last female driver active in F1

Wolff has already gained a lot of experience in the world of motorsport, not only as a driver, but also as a team owner. After a successful career in karting, she made the move to the F1 feeder series. In her years in Formula Renault, Wolff finished on the podium several times, securing a spot in British Formula 3. Unfortunately, her time in that racing class was ended early after an injury. Wolff then spent seven seasons in the German DTM.

Wolff herself had previously been part of the Williams team as a test and development driver between 2012 and 2015. She participated in several initial free practice sessions for the team, becoming the first woman since 1992 to take part in an official F1 session. At the end of 2015, the British driver left F1.

Experience as team boss

In 2018, Wolff returned to the world of motorsport as team boss of Venturi Racing in Formula E. After three seasons, she was promoted to CEO of the team. In the 2020-2021 season, Venturi managed to achieve a strong result, finishing second in the drivers' championship. Last August, however, Wolff had to resign her position due to the acquisition of Maserati, which does make her available again for a new challenge.

Because of her history with Williams and her experience as team principal, Wolff is an excellent candidate for the role as team principal. She is already familiar with the team and has learned a lot about the team boss role over the past four seasons in Formula E. However, her relationship with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff could cause speculation and comment, should Williams entrust her with the role as team boss. Williams does, of course, use Mercedes engines, but there is no question of two team bosses in F1 sharing information between themselves. As long as the team can trust Wolff not to share important knowledge with her husband (and vice versa), then her experience in motorsport would certainly be welcome at Williams.