Williams seeks return of missing FW23 in High Court claim

Williams has filed a High Court claim in London seeking the return of its 2001 FW23 Formula 1 car, or more than £1 million if it is not recovered, from Peter Thorpe, a former director of Autotech Performance Ltd. The car’s whereabouts and what happened after it was last reported at Autotech’s premises remain unresolved, and the competing accounts have not been tested at a full trial. Williams says it loaned the car to Autotech in 2015 for display at the company’s garage in Telford. The team says it asked for the car back in 2021 but received no response. Autotech later went into liquidation and was dissolved. Williams is pursuing Thorpe, who was a director and shareholder of the business. In its court case, Williams alleges that Thorpe told a valuer involved in Autotech’s liquidation that he personally owned the car, and that he removed it or arranged for its removal. Williams is seeking an order for the car’s return, along with hire charges, or alternatively compensation of more than £1 million. The team values the FW23 at £750,000. Thorpe’s defence denies that he claimed ownership and says he does not know where the car is now.