James Wolves: “The world doesn’t see” Williams’ progress in F1

The director of the Williams team, James Vowles, stated that many of the truly positive aspects that marked his Formula 1 team in 2024 remained invisible to the public eye.

The team based in Grove went through a difficult season last year, finishing ninth in the Constructors’ Championship, with several significant accidents involving Alex Albon, Logan Sargeant, and Franco Colapinto, which affected the results and finances of the team.

A restructuring of the team

James Vowles continues the process of restructuring the team, begun after his arrival at Williams at the beginning of 2023. In an interview with Autosport, the Briton highlighted many high-level recruits recently integrated into the team, from whom he expects to see effects in the future.

Among these recruits are technical director Pat Fry and design director Matt Harman, both from Alpine, chief IT engineer Fabrice Moncade from Ferrari, and chief engineer Angelos Tsiaparas from Red Bull. The latter is currently focusing on the development of the FW48, addressing the new technical regulations planned for 2026.

« The essential is the following: many of the truly positive aspects, the world does not see, » said James Vowles. « I can walk around the building and witness the excellence of a team that now has experience in winning races. I see a change in what we are doing in terms of infrastructure, culture, personnel, and even commercially – it’s a whole different world. »

I have always said that the journey would go from 2023 to 2025: these are just stages of progression, and the results on the track do not necessarily reflect the significant changes happening behind the scenes.

A lukewarm 2024 season for the team. « Do I think that the ninth place fully reflects what we have accomplished? No. There are truly significant technological advancements underway, and more great things to come in the future. That’s what I’m focusing on. Does it frustrate me to be in ninth place? Yes, absolutely, because I always like to come to a race weekend to get the most out of everything, and we didn’t achieve that this year », explains the team boss.

One of the team’s problems is the reliability of the car which has caused numerous racing incidents. We have been severely penalized by significant losses. We have also been affected by our own technological changes, which produced a car that was not at the minimum weight, and we have not been able to show the world what we can really do.

A potential to exploit for Williams

« And then, there are races where people see: ‘Williams is able to reach Q3 almost all the time’, but we do not capitalize on it. It remains frustrating, but it is outweighed by the positive news behind the scenes. The only way for the world to really see this will be through the progress made from 2025, 2026, 2027 », says James Vowles.

Williams recorded 10 appearances in Q3 last season. Eight for Alex Albon and two for Franco Colapinto but only six results in the points. However, several opportunities were missed during Saturday’s qualifying sessions.

The Brit reflects on two highlights for the team. I will remember that we were second in qualifying in Brazil before Alex had an accident, added James Vowles. We were in a potential Q3 position in Las Vegas with Franco before an accident. I always hate bringing it back to an accident, but that’s the story of the year.

« We must remember that the speed is there, but we haven’t realized it yet. And this concerns the whole team. I never put the blame on any one individual. Ultimately, it’s the team as a whole that hasn’t managed to align everything perfectly yet. That’s the secret. »

« Everything must progress together: reliability, design, performance, drivers, overall strategy, everything must fit together correctly to progress at the right speed. »