Claire Williams says she hopes to see speculation swirling around Paddy Lowe's future end soon, with the former Mercedes technical boss expected to join her team in the near future.

Lowe is currently on gardening leave after he left the German manufacturer in the wake of three consecutive championship-winning seasons in the current 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged era.

The 54-year-old has been tipped for a return to Williams, where he began his F1 career in the late 1980s, with previous reports saying he would take up his new role in March.

Speaking to BBC 5 live Sport in a wide-ranging interview, Williams remained tight-lipped when asked on the subject.

“A lot of people have been talking about this: We have been providing all the media that follow our sport a great winter with the shenanigans that have been going on at Mercedes and at Williams,” the deputy team principal said in reference to Valtteri Bottas replacing Nico Rosberg.

“We’ve provided you with a lot column inches. Hopefully all the speculation will be over in the near time but I can’t comment whether Paddy is joining Williams or not.

“He is a fantastic technical director and any team would be really lucky to have him.”

Williams announced on Thursday that Dirk de Beer had been appointed as its new head of aerodynamics. On the same day, former Ferrari tech boss James Allison was confirmed at Mercedes in what has been a winter of change on the top engineer market.

GALLERY: F1 drivers' wives and girlfriends

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Julien Billiotte

Recent Posts

Sainz samples new Madring: ‘You’ve created quite a cocktail’

The Spanish Grand Prix’s future home is still surrounded by construction barriers, deadlines and heavy…

1 hour ago

Ten years on: Marko reveals Horner resisted Verstappen promotion

Helmut Marko has revealed that Max Verstappen’s in-season promotion from Toro Rosso to Red Bull…

3 hours ago

Schumacher and Irvine paint the town red in Monaco

On this day in 1999 in Monaco, a dominant Michael Schumacher secured his 35th career…

5 hours ago

Rosenqvist finds 233 mph magic at Indy on Fast Friday

Sometimes at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, speed doesn’t build gradually – it arrives like it…

5 hours ago

McLaren powers up: Intel returns to F1 after 20-year hiatus

Nearly two decades after its last high-speed venture in Formula 1, American computing giant Intel…

6 hours ago

Verstappen admits to 'super tough' Nürburgring 24 Hours qualifying

Max Verstappen’s Nürburgring 24 Hours debut is already delivering the kind of storyline only he…

8 hours ago