Frank Williams won't retire from F1, says his daughter Claire

Legendary F1 team owner Sir Frank Williams has "no plans to retire", according to his daughter and deputy Claire.

At 73 years old, Williams is the oldest team principal in the sport having held the role since founding the team in its current guise with Patrick Head in 1977.

Overseeing nine constructors’ and seven drivers’ titles since then, in addition to 114 race wins, Williams’ achievements have been all the more remarkable given that he has been quadriplegic and in a wheelchair since a road accident in southern France in 1986.

Following the departure of former chairman Adam Parr in 2012, the man who had been viewed in many quarters as Williams’ heir apparent, Claire Williams was promoted to the role of deputy team principal having previously held commercial and marketing roles at Grove. Mike O'Driscoll became chief executive in 2013.

But, while Williams Snr no longer attends all the races, his daughter says he remains as passionate about F1 and the team as ever.

"Frank is team principal. Always has been and always will be until we find him one day face down on the desk," Claire Williams told Reuters.

"Frank is in there 24/7, he's in the office more than any of us. He loves it, he's passionate about it but he has a management team in place that he trusts to run the business," she added.

"But Frank is there, he will always be and has no plans to retire. It wouldn't be the same without him."

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Williams announced their end-of-year financial results for 2014 this week with the outfit confident that the £42.5m loss made by the F1 team – which contributed to an overall £34.3m loss for the whole Williams group – won't be repeated in forthcoming accounts with the team having invested to improve their on-track performance.

From a worst-ever finish of ninth in the 2013 Constructors’ Championship, Williams vaulted up to third last season and again hold the position after four races of 2015.

Last year the team successfully enticed luxury drink brand Martini back to F1 to become their new title sponsor, however Claire Williams has denied suggestions that the team undersold themselves to gain the high-profile association.

"We are more flexible in our approach than certain other teams, but that's not to say that we ever undersell ourselves," she said.

"There's commentary that Martini may have been undersold. Well, no. Not at all. We can't do that because we can't afford to do that."

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