Claire Williams

In 2023, Claire Williams OBE took on a role as brand ambassador for WAE Technologies, the research and development off-shoot of the Williams Formula One team, extending a career spent at the sharp end of motorsport and sustainable innovation. She remains one of the most sought-after voices on leadership and transformation in elite sport, headlining events such as London Law Expo 2025.

Born on 21 July 1976 in Windsor, Berkshire, to Sir Frank and Virginia Williams, she graduated from Newcastle University in 1999 with a politics degree before joining Silverstone as a press officer. In 2002 she moved to Williams F1 as a Communications Officer, rising to Head of Communications in 2010, then Head of Investor Relations during the team’s 2011 Frankfurt Stock Exchange listing, and Director of Marketing & Communications in 2012.

Appointed deputy team principal in March 2013, she ran the team day to day, signing Felipe Massa alongside Valtteri Bottas, switching to Mercedes engines and driving a revival that brought consecutive third-place Constructors’ Championship finishes between 2014 and 2017. Only the second woman ever to manage an F1 team, after Monisha Kaltenborn, she was appointed OBE in the 2016 Birthday Honours and named Esquire’s International Woman of the Year in 2015. In 2020 she sold the team to Dorilton Capital to secure its future, resigning after the Italian Grand Prix that September.

A committed advocate for diversity, she raised female representation at Williams to 17.6 percent, the highest in the paddock, appointed Susie Wolff and Jamie Chadwick to development roles and championed the Spinal Injuries Association, Dare to be Different and F1 in Schools.