Williams - Cost cuts saved us

Williams: Needs to make a profit

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Sir Frank Williams has said that cost-cutting measures agreed between the FIA and FOTA have safeguarded the future of his team.

Williams are in a unique position amongst Formula One teams, in that they have neither the backing of a major manufacturer nor the patronage of a billionaire businessman such as Dietrich Mateschitz (Red Bull and Toro Rosso) or Vijay Mallya (Force India).

With the global financial crisis cited as the reason for Honda's withdrawal from the sport in December, a package of measures was soon announced to drastically reduce costs starting this season.

And for a truly independent team for whom the bottom line is all, Williams has said that the measures - the first raft of which includes a ban on in-season testing and a 50 per cent reduction in engine costs - have offered his team a 'fresh start'.

"[Given] the financial pressure we are under, the consequent changes to the rules to reduce the cost of racing are a major benefit," Williams told the Financial Times.

"We need to make a profit. To be successful and to be certain of staying in business, we need to be successful financially too. So, we need to make a profit every year.

"We've lost in the last two years, or three, I think, but we have the reserves and resource to manage that," he added.