Since Williams F1 received a significant upgrade at the last Dutch Grand Prix, the team has taken a leap in terms of pure performance: scoring points three times and quadrupling its points total!
James Vowles, the boss of the team, can therefore take a breath today with the BBC: Williams F1 is well on the path to the announced recovery. But this is of course not finished.
“Are we past the worst? Yes. Are we out of the woods? No. »
“It’s not a success today. It’s just better than where we were before. Success really means being at the front of the grid, and we’re still a long way from being there. We’re really starting this journey, I’m afraid. »
“But I would also say that everything we’ve been through has built a foundation that means we won’t go back to where we were. »
To explain this progress, we also have to look at the production department: the team lacked parts due to structural and operational changes at the factory, which delayed the production of the developments. Not to mention the too many accidents involving Logan Sargeant, and Alexander Albon to a lesser extent.
“To say it was a disaster would be a strong word, but adequate to describe our situation. We weren’t scoring points. We have moved back from where we were in 2023.”
“We didn’t do a good enough job. I knew there were risks involved. But we are here to develop our journey so that we no longer take small steps. We will take great leaps, and we will stumble along the way. »
“The main thing is that the set of decisions that put us in this predicament at the beginning of the year are the same set of decisions that got us to where we are today, which is to challenge the status quo and develop the car on a scale we have never reached before,” continues the former Mercedes F1 man.
“It would be surprising to say that there is no difference between where we are today and where we were in winter in terms of decision-making; it’s just that the results are different. »
“The car is competitive. She has been all season, it’s just that the weight has been hiding her. Much of our progress lies in reducing the weight of the car. The second is how we develop the car aerodynamically, I can’t tell you if it’s different from other teams, but what I can say is that when we add performance to the car , this translates. »
Williams F1 fully recovered by 2028 at the latest?
In two years, the new F1 regulations will arrive. Obviously, this will be an opportunity for Williams F1 to make a big leap forward.
But does James Vowles have the means to achieve his ambitions?
“The owners (Dorilton) are as supportive as I could want. »
“They didn’t put a deadline on me and say ‘you have to fix everything by then’. The clear objectives are progress and ensuring we invest in the right areas. These are the key targets. »
“The top three teams, the four now, are of such a high level that it would be naive to think you can spend as much as them and be at their level. Many of them have been in this position for many years. »
“What I’ve said publicly is: ‘Expect good results around 2028.’ This is a reasonable period to consider. 2026 we will make progress, I have no doubt, but the real infrastructure will start to bear fruit in 2027.”
James Vowles knows the team to imitate: it is McLaren F1, which was still in great difficulty a few years ago as well.
“Their comeback started about six years ago, and what you see are the fruits of that labor six years later. Bravo to them. »“They did an incredible job. But this is not the work of one year, it is the work of many years, as is always the case in sports where teams fight for milliseconds. »
“This is roughly the same timeline I intend to follow to accomplish our goals. It’s pretty much the same methodology that we’re going to adopt to get things done. »
“You have a team, McLaren, that is leading the constructors’ championship, without necessarily having the same resources as some of the teams around it. For me, it’s a beacon on the hill that I look forward to joining. »
“What it shows is that even with an infrastructure that’s not necessarily at the level of some of the big teams in the sport, you can do well. And for me, it’s a source of inspiration and that’s how I see it. »
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