Williams team principal James Vowles has admitted his squad “got carried away” with their success last season but insists a disappointing 2026 campaign is merely “a blip”.
Vowles took charge of Williams after joining from Mercedes at the start of 2023 and appeared to be having a hugely positive impact when the team finished fifth in the 2025 constructors’ standings, which was their best finish since 2017.
However, the biggest regulation change in the sport’s history, which saw the introduction of both new power units and chassis, has seen Williams regress, leaving drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon hugely frustrated.
They are ninth of the 11 teams with three rounds of the 2026 season remaining and have scored just 12 points, which compares poorly to a final total of 137 a year earlier.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Alex Albon found himself in the wall at Turn Five, bringing out the safety car at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Appearing on the latest episode of The Fast and the Curious podcast, Vowles said: “There’s going to be blips in the pathway. This is what I consider a blip, unfortunately.
“And I think it’s a good thing we went through it because we’ve made some pretty enormous changes in the backside of the team, which we had to go through, in my opinion, to make the next steps.
“And I think we got carried away a little bit with ourselves last year, demonstrating that actually when things aren’t changing too much, we have the ability to produce a half decent car. But regulation changes will always expose you.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Joining Christian Hewgil on the Fast and the Curious podcast, Williams Team Principal James Vowles says that the cost cap is making the gap between teams bigger and is leading to F1 not being a ‘healthy sport’.
Despite Williams’ struggles leading to speculation over the security of Vowles’ job, the 47-year-old insists that he is not feeling the pressure.
“When I signed up to this, I had an agreement with the board that we’re going to find some horrible things when we start pushing ourselves,” Vowles said. “It’s not a business where we can go out there and completely predict where we’re going to be in different phases.
“But I will dedicate my heart, soul and every hour of my day, as will the team into fixing it when we find it. But I ask in return that there’s a support behind us in that way.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Williams’ Carlos Sainz was forced to enter pits after a fire on his brakes during practice at Azerbaijan GP.
“And I have to say that the board has been outstanding, really, to the extent where I remember in winter, a pretty horrible time in winter, I was working seven day weeks and 16-hour, 18-hour days, it was hard. I called to see all of them. And all it was, was just really a ‘we’re here behind you. How can we help?’ That was it.
“It is not an environment where people are taking this light-heartedly. They know that this is going to be a difficult challenge. I knew it was going to be a difficult challenge. My assurance to the world is everything we are doing is directionally correct for our future.”
Formula 1 next hits The Strip for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, live on Sky Sports F1 from November 20-22. Stream Sky Sports with NOW
Leave a Reply