'Williams borrows an estimated £50 million from father Latifi'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
In order to stay afloat, the Williams Formula 1 team had to lend a large amount of money from a group of investors. At the head of these investors is Michaell Latifi, father of F1 debutant Nicholas Latifi. This loan is secured with the buildings, land and historic cars from the team.
The documents that came out about this loan do not specify exactly how much money is involved, but pitpass.com has estimated the total amount based on the collateral.
The total collection of historic cars is estimated at around £20 million. It concerns more than 100 chassis'. Slightly less than half of these are still operational. The total value of the buildings and land owned by the team is £30.7 million. Williams' property therefore guarantees a loan of over £50 million.
Can Williams still do without Latifi?
So it will be clear that things are not going well for the once dominant team. The performance of the past two seasons contributes to that. After the dramatic 2018 season, some of the sponsors, together with Lance Stroll, moved to Racing Point. According to The Telegraph, the team lost more than £20 million in the first six months of 2019 on a total turnover of less than £80 million.
So Latifi seems to be the lifesaver, but that may also have consequences. The team's contract with Formula 1 is included in the loan. If Williams goes bankrupt, Latifi, which already has a ten percent stake in McLaren, will have full control over the team.