Claire Williams has admitted that she can no longer bring herself to watch Formula 1 since leaving her role as deputy team principal at Williams, as it still proves too painful. The Williams team - which was founded by Claire’s father Frank in 1977 - is now being led by new owners Dorilton Capital following the family’s decision to sell the British outfit in the summer of 2020. This led to Claire and Frank ending their association with the team at the Italian Grand Prix in September. It was a difficult decision for the family to make, so much so that Claire does not yet feel ready to watch F1 again. “I haven’t watched any of it. I do find it really painful,” Williams said in an interview for The Spectator. “I’m so happy that the new owners want to keep the name, the team is still called Williams. [But] I find it really difficult. “It’s too heart wrenching to put it on and it’s kind of weird; they’re all your people that you hung out with for however many years and now you don’t get to see them at all. There’s a bit of a grieving process because those are the people that I spent my life with and I don’t see them anymore and I don’t want to see them on the TV. “I wish everybody in the team well, and I hope and I know that they will get back to where they deserve to be because they work so super hard, but I can’t watch it. It’s too painful right now, which is a bit pathetic.” Williams has instead been making the most of her time away from the sport, which has involved spending time with family and watching Netflix. “I said that I wanted to spend a year [away], and I’m lucky enough to be able to do so, that I can spend a year being at home, and being a housewife and a mum,” Williams explained.
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