Claire Williams, the former deputy team principal of the Williams team, is to join Channel 4’s coverage of this weekend’s British Grand Prix.
Ms Williams, the daughter of legendary team founder Sir Frank Williams, served as deputy team principal of the Williams team for more than seven years between 2013 and 2020.
Claire Williams joins Channel 4 coverage of British Grand Prix at Silverstone
She cut ties with the team during the 2020 season when the Grove-based outfit was sold to Dorilton Capital.
Ms Williams has kept her distance from F1 in the years since, but has appeared as a pundit in the last two series of Drive to Survive, the hit F1-based docuseries produced by Netflix.
The 48-year-old also secured a role as an F1 ambassador for Santander, the Spanish bank which struck a sponsorship deal with the Williams team ahead of the F1 2025 season, in March.
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It was revealed last month that Ms Williams has co-created a free online course in high-performance leadership, along with Williams ambassador and 2009 World Champion Jenson Button, as part of a joint initiative between Formula 1 and Santander.
Whisper Films, the production company behind Channel 4’s coverage of F1 since 2016, has announced that Ms Williams will join the broadcaster at Silverstone this weekend.
In a statement posted to social media, Whisper said: “With the British Grand Prix fast approaching, we have an exciting announcement that is going to make Sunday’s race coverage even more special.
“We have landed a rather special guest in Claire Williams who is returning to Silverstone.
“Claire led the Williams F1 racing team for over eight years [sic], delivering success and becoming the most prominent and successful woman in Formula 1 in recent years.
“Everyone at Whisper is thrilled that Claire will be part of the presenting team, offering unique perspectives and the sort of insight and analysis you can only get from being at sharp end of the sport.
“Claire will be joining Lee McKenzie, Alice Powell, Steve Jones, David Coulthard and Billy Monger, with Alex Jaques leading commentary, for our Channel 4 coverage of one of the biggest races in the calendar.”
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In an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com last year, Ms Williams admitted that she has struggled to come to terms with life without F1 since selling the team.
She said: “I’ve taken a step back from the sport.
“I was in Formula 1 one way or another my whole life. Not being a part of that world is clearly going to be an enormous sadness to me.
“I’m not running Williams, so staying away from it is probably the healthiest thing for me to do.
“If I’m honest, it has been really tough. Williams has been my life and one minute it’s there, and one minute it’s not.
“Those race cars felt like a part of me. The team felt like an extension of my family and they’re not there anymore.
“I don’t get to see them each and every day. That has been really difficult to get used to.
“But when one door closes, another opens. That’s my philosophy when it comes to life.
“I’m very lucky – I have a lovely life, I have a wonderful husband, and I have a gorgeous little boy.
“I get to spend way more time with them now than I ever would have done if I was still in the sport.
“That’s a great privilege and a source of enormous joy for me.
“It’s not easy getting over Formula 1. It gets into your soul. It’s not easy to say goodbye to F1.”
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