Why behind the curve Williams is only a positive for Vowles in F1

After switching from multiple title winner Mercedes, Vowles has admitted some surprise regarding facilities that he said in certain areas were 20 years out of date. 

It was why he pushed hard, and achieved some success, in changing F1’s capital expenditure limits to free up the possibility for much-needed investment to help address Williams’ shortfalls. 

While some may have been put off by how much catch-up was needed to help that charge up to the front of the grid, Vowles sees things very differently. 

Off the back of Williams’ best-scoring season since 2017, which helped it grab seventh in the constructors’ championship, Vowles thinks that achieving what it did in spite of its deficits is a huge boost as the squad lays out ambitious targets for the future. 

Speaking to Autosport about the infrastructure situation, Vowles said: “I like it. And here’s why I like it. This team has done incredibly well before I joined, and even when I’ve been here, because it’s driven by passion. It’s a true racing team.  

“Any time I keep looking at our facilities, structures, infrastructure, methods, and realise how far behind we are, I’m only encouraged by it.

“We’re here where we are today, and I can’t wait until we get a lot of it fixed because we’ll be in a much better place. And in a short space of time too, because there’s quite a bit, still, of low-hanging fruit left over that we can pick up.“

A new mindset 

While Vowles knows that the catch-up game Williams needs to execute to match the infrastructure of rivals is a long-tern project, this has not stopped him pushing on with more immediate changes since his arrival.

And perhaps the area where he has been able to have the biggest influence is in shifting the mindset of Williams – getting its belief back and putting in place the attitudes it needs to produce better racing cars. 

It started with getting rid of a short-termism mentality that he felt was not conducive to making Williams a consistent competitor at the front. 

“When I joined, I asked: ‘How are we getting on with next year’s car?’ And the answer was, nothing,” he explained. “I said: ‘Right, we’re changing that immediately. We need to focus on next year, the year after, and 2026.’ 

“Because as soon as you focus on the just now, and that’s where your window is, everything is bursts of activities, and you don’t move…