Claire Williams: 'Dorilton wanted me to stay'

Claire Williams says her decision to relinquish her role as Williams' deputy team principal was entirely her own choice, insisting new owner Dorilton Capital wanted her to stay.

The Williams family announced on Thursday its exit from Formula 1 with both Sir Frank and daughter Claire stepping down from their positions, a decision that brought an end to the family's over four-decade involvement in the sport.

Speaking in Friday's FIA team principal press conference at Monza, Williams said the Grove-based outfit will face a period of transition after this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

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"There were a lot of rumours swirling around in Spa about my tenure within the team," Williams said.

"Dorilton, I'd like to make it clear, wanted me to stay. This was my decision. I felt it was the right choice for me to step away.

"There will be a period of transition. This is obviously going to be my last race weekend, but I am going to be working a few days per week over the course of the next few weeks in order to hand over in order to talk to Dorilton about the team, the inner workings of the team, and the expertise they need to come in.

"They're in the business already, they're doing their due diligence, they're reviewing the capabilities, and they're looking at what they can do in order to invest into the business.

"I will be helping them with that to advise that over the coming weeks."

Williams admitted that the sport's transformation over the years has brought on new and difficult challenges for independent teams.

"The world changes, and the world has changed dramatically over the past even handful of years that we've been racing in Formula 1," Williams said.

"I would like to make the point that I think we have received an awful lot of criticism for some of the decisions that we have taken at Williams over the last handful of years.

"But until you actually see what goes on behind the scenes in Formula 1 teams, particularly operating in the environment that we find ourselves operating in at the moment in this sport, that has become ever-harsher, predominantly courtesy of the last Concorde Agreement, I think our team has done an extraordinary job.

"All the people have worked behind the scenes in order to keep our team alive and keep the fight as an independent team. I'm very proud of that work.

"It's never something I will regret, having made decisions that ensure we have retained that independence over the last few years."

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