Williams F1 Team Supportive Of Marussia's Attempts To Return To Grid

Williams F1 Team Deputy Principal Claire Williams said her team is "supportive of Marussia's attempts to return to the Formula One grid and would have agreed to them starting the season with last year's car," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. Williams said, "We've been very clear on our position around Marussia and their entry: we want a full competitive line-up on the grid ... and we will do anything to support Marussia coming back in." Williams, whose technical head Pat Symonds worked previously for Marussia, said costs "had to be controlled with even middle ranking teams 'facing some serious issues.'" Williams: "We are what I call a middle team, not a small team. We go racing based on the sponsorship budget that we can generate, coupled with the prize money that we get. But it’s a hard fight. We’ve got to generate $91.77 million a year in sponsorship to keep our team racing" (REUTERS, 2/11).