Claire Williams has backed Williams to recover from a troubled 2026 campaign, insisting the team remains in "safe hands" under owner Dorilton Capital and team principal James Vowles.
Williams sits ninth in the constructors' championship with just 12 points after 20 rounds, a sharp fall from the progress the Grove squad had shown in recent seasons.
The former deputy team principal, who left her operational role at the team in 2020, says the slump will have caught even those inside the organisation off guard.
Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon have often received apologies over the radio this season from Vowles, over the car being uncompetitive.
Speaking to RacingNews365 at the launch of Fortescue Zero Racing, Williams said she retained full faith in the current leadership despite the scale of the setback.
"I've always said that Williams has been in really safe hands with Dorilton and in James Vowles' hands as team principal," Williams told RacingNews365.
"And, of course, for everybody that's involved in the team, I think this year's performance would have been a surprise. However, as I've grown up around the sport, I know as much as anyone that Formula 1 is hard.
"Transforming Formula 1 teams is not the work of a moment. I said that during my time when I had some challenging seasons, or a couple of challenging seasons towards the end, it's not easy to do what they've got to do. And particularly in this era of the cost cap, they're still building.
"I have complete faith in James Vowles and in the management team at Williams and Dorilton, who are doing what they need to do in order to turn things around. But it might take a bit more time than any of us would like.
"But they've got the energy and the drive in the team. There's some great people there, they've got great drivers. And I know that one day it will all come good for them. It's just hard work, and it takes a long time."
Williams' role with Formula E's newest team
Away from Williams, Claire Williams now serves as a brand ambassador for Fortescue Zero, who have entered works outfit into Formula E that has grown out of the former Williams Advanced Engineering business ahead of the series' Gen4 era.
That new generation of car arrives with a significant jump in performance, with peak Attack Mode power rising to 600 kW and standard race power up to 450 kW, alongside full-time all-wheel drive and expanded 55 kWh batteries.
Asked whether Formula 1 is ready for the leap Formula E is about to make, Williams was measured but welcomed the prospect of rivalry between the two categories.
"We've got to wait and see, haven't we? But you know what? I don't think there would be anything better than the two championships pushing each other. Everyone in motor racing loves competition, and it's competition that drives innovation. So, for the rest of the world's benefit, to have Formula 1 and Formula E potentially trying to push the boundaries even harder and even faster could be really exciting."
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Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Samuel Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on the São Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil! Max Verstappen’s simply staggering recovery from 21st on the grid is a key talking point, as is Ferrari’s current power unit struggles.
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