 The lawsuit alleged that Coughlan's departure impacted the team's performance, resulting in a loss of prize money and potential sponsorship.Michael Waltrip Racing, Couglan and the Williams F1 team reached a settlement, the terms of which were not disclosed, on 18 October 2011; the lawsuit was dismissed as part of that settlement.On 3 May 2011 it was announced that Coughlan was hired by the Williams F1 team as the chief engineer, in part replacing the then technical director Sam Michael and chief aerodynamicist Jon Tomlinson.