Sir Patrick Head returns to Williams as consultant

Williams has brought co-founder Sir Patrick Head back to the team in a consultancy capacity after its disappointing start to the 2019 Formula 1 season.

2018 was a tough year for Williams as the team finished bottom of the constructors’ championship with just five points, and this year has proven even worse. The FW42 was not ready in time for the team to complete a planned shakedown and then eventually missed the first two and a half days of pre-season testing in Barcelona.

When the car did run, it proved to be comfortably off the pace and chief technical officer Paddy Lowe then took a leave of absence “for personal reasons” ahead of the opening race of the season.

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Lowe is not expected to return, and Williams has now confirmed it has brought Head in to add stability as it looks to identify the reasons for its poor performance.

“We can confirm that Sir Patrick Head is currently offering some support to our engineering team on a short-term consultancy basis,” a Williams spokesperson told the official Formula 1 website.

Head was co-founder alongside Sir Frank Williams back in 1976 and remains a shareholder despite stepping down from his role of director of engineering back in 2011. During his time -- which also included a spell as technical director -- the Briton oversaw seven drivers’ championships and nine constructors’ titles, with the last of both of those coming in 1997.