Lowe could start at Williams before Melbourne

Paddy Lowe is closing in on a move to Williams following the announcement of his departure from Mercedes.

Following weeks of speculation regarding Lowe's future, Mercedes confirmed on Jan. 10 that the executive director (technical) would be leaving the team. Lowe had been free to agree a move to another team after January 1 and in announcing his departure Mercedes stated the 54-year-old would be placed on gardening leave.

Lowe was expected to join Williams but the priority for both teams was to finalize their driver line-ups for 2017, with Valtteri Bottas moving to Brackley as a replacement for the retired 2016 drivers' champion Nico Rosberg, and Felipe Massa returning in place of the Finn. Confirmation of the driver moves came on Jan. 16, allowing attention to return to Lowe's future.

The BBC quotes a source close to Williams as describing Lowe's move as "a formality" which will see him link up with his former employers having been at Grove early in his Formula 1 career from 1987-'93. The report also claims Lowe will become a shareholder and director, while RACER understands he will be the lead technical figure following the departure of Williams chief technical officer Pat Symonds in December of last year.

Williams declined to comment when contacted by RACER on Wednesday.

While Lowe is currently on "gardening leave" it is understood there is the possibility of him being able to join Williams without seeing out the full period, with the BBC report claiming Mercedes "will consider allowing Lowe to start work immediately," which would see him in place before the start of the 2017 season. Such an agreement is likely to have been reached during negotiations regarding Bottas' move between the teams.

Williams is seeking to bounce back from a disappointing 2016 season, with the team having slipped to fifth in the constructors' championship after finishing third in the previous two seasons. This year will see Williams field Canadian rookie Lance Stroll alongside Massa, with the Brazilian reversing his decision to retire from F1 to replace Bottas.