(Motorsport) Williams have announced the departure of team principal and CEO Jost Capito and team director Francois-Xavier Demaison after coming last in the Constructors’ Championship with just eight points – 27 behind nearest rivals AlphaTauri. Capito has previously had a short spell with McLaren in 2016 and joined Williams as CEO in December 2020, taking over as team principal in 2021. Demaison joined as technical director in March 2021 and was responsible for design and development of their cars. Williams will announce their replacements before the 2023 season.

“We would like to thank Jost for his hard work and dedication as we embarked on a major transformation process to begin the journey of reviving Williams Racing. We’re grateful that Jost postponed his planned retirement to take on this challenge and now he will pass the reins on for the next part of this staged process. We would also like to thank FX for his contribution and wish him all the best for his future as he moves on.”

Matthew Savage, chairman of Williams owners Dorilton Capital

Dorilton bought Formula 1 team Williams from Sir Frank Williams in the summer of 2020 with the aim of returning this historic team back into contention. Capito was recruited from the Volkswagen Group but the appointment didn’t yield any results as the team finished last in the Constructors Standings for the third consecutive year. The team improved in 2021, finishing eighth, which was their best result since 2017, largely due to George Russell’s performance as the British driver finished in second place with Williams during qualifying at the Belgian GP. As luck would have it, he was classed in second place in the race itself as the race was called off due to poor weather.

Nicholas Latifi and George Russell ended up taking four other points in the 2021 season, finishing 23 points ahead of Alfa Romeo and Haas but were unable to keep the momentum in the 2022 season. The car was slow once again and despite Alex Albon impressing, Williams finished last in the Constructors Standings yet again with only eight points. Albon, who signed a new contract until 2024 will be joined by American Logan Sargent for the next season will hope that the new appointments will help bring some improvement in Williams for the future.

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