Claire Williams

Claire Harris[1] OBE (née Williams; born 21 July 1976) is the former Deputy Team Principal of the Williams Formula One racing team. She resigned on 7 September 2020.[2][3]

Claire Williams OBE
Williams at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed
Born	Claire Williams 21 July 1976 Windsor, Berkshire, England
Nationality	British
Education	Newcastle University
Occupation	Deputy Team Principal of Williams Racing (2013–2020)
Spouse(s)	Marc Harris ​ (m. 2018)​
Children	1

Early life

Claire Williams was born in 1976 in Windsor, Berkshire. She is the daughter of Sir Frank Williams and the late Virginia, Lady Williams. Claire Williams graduated from Newcastle University in 1999 with a degree in Politics.[4]

Career

After graduation, Claire Williams became a press officer for the Silverstone racing circuit. In 2002, she joined the Williams F1 team as a communications officer. In 2010, she became the head of communications for the team. In 2011, she was promoted to director of marketing and communications for Williams. When Frank Williams stepped down from the Williams board in March 2012, Claire became the Williams family representative on the board.[5] In March 2013, she was appointed deputy team principal of the Williams F1 racing team.[6][7] In this role she retained responsibility for marketing, communications and the commercial aspects of the team's business.[8]

Williams was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to Formula 1 racing.[9]

On 3 September 2020, Williams announced she was resigning as deputy team principal of the Williams team after 7 September 2020.[3] However, on race day, she had the honour of sending driver Nicholas Latifi out of the garage and into the recon lap to head to the grid. As Latifi and George Russell crossed the line, the two thanked Claire for giving them the opportunity to race in F1.

Below are the radio messages that the two Williams drivers gave Claire as they crossed the line:

George Russell: I'd just like to take this opportunity to say to Claire and thank Frank, thank you so much for everything you've done for me, for the whole team. It's gonna be a shame to see you leave, we'll... we'll miss you and yeah, just thank... thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Nicholas Latifi: Claire, I'm not sure if you're going through a world of emotions right now. I just wanted to say for one last time... Thank you for everything you've done for me, for giving me this opportunity. You know, I'm gonna miss you, F1 is gonna miss you. Just be sure that we'll keep pushing 100% to bring the Williams name back to where it belongs. Wishing you, Marc, Nate, the best in wherever life takes you next. Thank you, thank you.

Before the race, at the Williams motorhome, she was given the front wing of a Williams FW36 as a souvenir.[10]

Personal life

On 5 April 2017, the Williams team announced that she would be giving birth to her first child, a boy, in October.[11] She gave birth to the baby on 10 October 2017.[12]

In January 2018, the Williams team announced her marriage to Marc Harris.[13]

References

1. "Italian Grand Prix". Formula One Pre-Qualifying. 5 September 2020. Sky Sports F1.
2. "Our People Claire Williams". Williams Grand Prix Engineering. 2013. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
3. "Williams family to step aside from running of the team after Italian GP". www.formula1.com. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
4. Charlie Cooper (20 April 2013). "My Secret Life: Claire Williams, 36, Williams F1 Deputy Team Principal". The Independent. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
5. Andrew Benson (2 March 2012). "Sir Frank Williams steps down from the Williams team board". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
6. Ian Parkes (27 March 2013). "Frank Williams promotes daughter Claire to deputy team principal at F1 team". The Independent. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
7. Andrew Benson (28 March 2013). "Williams names daughter Claire deputy team principal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
8. formula1.com (17 May 2013). "Claire Williams Q & A:I won't give up until we're back". formula1.com. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
9. "No. 61608". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2016. p. B15.
10. "Claire Williams gifted nose and front wing assembly from 2014 car as family bows out of F1 | Formula 1®". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
11. WILLIAMS RACING [@WilliamsRacing] (5 April 2017). "We have a very special congratulations today……!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
12. "F1: Claire Williams gives birth to a boy". www.crash.net. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
13. WILLIAMS RACING [@WilliamsRacing] (20 January 2018). "Congratulations to Claire & Marc..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.