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Williams: "I'd be surprised if Lance doesn't move to Force India"

11:15, 28 Aug 2018

byJake Williams-Smith

Claire Williams has admitted she would be surprised if Lance Stroll doesn't move to Racing Point Force India now his father Lawrence has invested in the team. Stroll led a consortium to save the Force India team from administration and rumours suggest that his son will make the switch from Williams to his new team.

In an interview with F1news.ru, Claire Williams reportedly revealed that the situation surrounding Stroll's future and his fathers investment in Force India was a situation the team had seen coming and planned for before the events played out.

"We knew it was getting ready. They did not hide anything, so we knew it would happen. We understood the situation," she said of Stroll's investment in their rivals.

"We have a very good team of financiers. We knew that Martini would not continue to cooperate with us. From time to time, in sports and economics, something like this happens, but none of these scenarios came as a surprise to us.

"There are no unusual scenarios - every year something happens to one or another team, and we are always preparing for such events. We are working hard on the budget for the next season, and this time we are in a comfortable situation. Of course, there is still much to do, but now only August."

Rumours have suggested that Stroll could be in the Force India as soon as Monza in place of Esteban Ocon as his father looks to integrate him into the new team sooner rather than later, something Williams would be surprised does not happen in the near future.

"I'm surprised if Lance does not move to Racing Point Force India. But as I said, until it is confirmed."

The move would leave a seat vacant at Williams with Robert Kubica a potential candidate to fill that role but more recent rumours suggest F2 driver Artem Markelov as the favoured option due to funding he would bring with him to the team.