Sam Michael likely to leave Williams after 2011 Korean Grand Prix – Formula 1 news
The technical director of Williams Sam Michael has announced that he is not going to be a part of the team following the 2011 Formula 1 season.
However, according to some conflicting reports, it has been revealed that he is not going to be with the team after the 2011 Korean Grand Prix.
“Most technical directors travel to races, but the structure that Williams is going for is not having a travelling technical director. There will be a chief operations engineer in Mark Gillan, so he is going to come to Japan and Korea, and be in the background
to see how I operate for those two races. Then he will take over from there,” Michael told the media.
The team still has not been able to perform up to the mark following its most disappointing start to a Formula 1 season up until now. Neither of the team’s drivers was able to secure a single point at this past weekend’s German Grand Prix which was quite
disappointing for the team. They have been improving and when teams like Force India and Toro Rosso finish ahead of them, it is quite embarrassing for them as these two teams became a part of the sport quite recently.
Following this disappointing start, the team vowed to make some changes in its administration as a result of which, Mike Coughlan has been made as their new chief engineer while Jason Somerville and Mark Gillan have now joined the technical team of Williams.
“I definitely won't be at the races, but what is going to happen at the factory I don't know,” he said.
The team signed Pastor Maldonado as a replacement for Nico Hulkenberg for the 2011 Formula 1 season after which they were expecting some improvements as the Venezuelan driver brought a major sponsor in the form of PDVSA. However, it seems that big money
cannot guarantee success in Formula 1 alone.
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