The Head of the Williams Formula 1 Team on Starting Over to Stand Out

Formula 1 fans who have just found the sport within the last several years, particularly since the debut of reality-show sensation Drive to Survive in 2019, may only know of the Williams team as fodder at the back of the field. Yet the longtime faithful of motorsport’s premiere race series hold the name in high regard, as well they should. Originally known as Williams Grand Prix Engineering, formed in 1978 by entrepreneurial racer Frank Williams (who was knighted in 1999), the UK-based squad—now Atlassian Williams Racing—is currently the third most successful team in Formula 1 history.

Behind only Ferrari and McLaren, in first and second, respectively, Williams has nine World Constructors’ Championship titles and seven Drivers’ Championship titles, at least so far. Helping to write that story have been such iconic competitors as Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, and Ayrton Senna among others.

Taking the helm as team principal in 2023, James Vowles is determined to bring Williams back to its winning form, which, as he will admit, has required a complete overhaul. While his means to an end still unfolds, this season finds them in fifth place thanks to the efforts of drivers Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz. With only three races left in the season, including this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, Vowles shares with Robb Report what’s been working, how much still needs to be addressed, and why next year’s car could hold the key.

How does the Williams legacy inspire you, and how do you keep it from being a distraction?

It’s part of the reason why I’m here. This is the team that I remember when I was a kid; it’s the team that I remember supporting, and so it resonates with me. It’s about the era when I started watching the sport, and I liked the independence, I liked what it stood for. I liked that it was known as a strength of the sport. And so even today, many years later, it still has this recognition of being one of the absolute giants. It’s just been sleeping for quite a few years.

That history was the part of the reason why I came here. I had the opportunity to join a few teams, all at the same time, or remain at Mercedes, which is, in itself, an incredible environment. But what attracted me here is the legacy—top three in the sport, full stop. The ability to be a part of that, and, more importantly—with the right investment—bring that back into winning ways, that literally only happens, in my experience, once in a lifetime. It’s a brilliant foundation. What I didn’t want to do is just rest on the laurels of what we’ve achieved before, but rather do proud by what Sir Frank achieved, and build on top of his legacy.

What has been, and continues to be, your approach in forging a winning identity once again—fostering that comeback mentality?

First of all, belief. I really do believe that we will win multiple championships here. The next element of things is making it my own . . . it’s about honesty, transparency, doing this the right way, in a sportsman way, looking back on what you’ve done and being proud of it in that regard. I know we have a long road in front of us, but that also means, because so much is broken, in such a good way, I mean it, I don’t have to worry about fine-tuning, and I don’t have to worry about upsetting anyone when we dig it out and start again. It gives you a unique opportunity to literally tear it all out, build foundations, do it the right way, no shortcuts. What I’m doing is building a legacy that will continue for many years beyond when I’m at the helm of this team, I’m confident, so that this team goes back to the front. That’s sort of the ethos I’ve been using behind it all.

Williams is currently sitting right behind Ferrari in the standings. What are the main factors contributing to the team’s improvement this season?

Here’s the kicker: we didn’t really put a lot of work into this year’s car. All we did was develop systems, structures, processes, technology for the future . . . the output of this year’s car is just getting a few fundamentals right, and that’s one of the things that makes me smile, because it never was a focus.

I love that we’re fifth, and I want to fight for fifth, but the reality behind it is that we didn’t put effort into being fifth this year. We put effort into [the] future, which pays dividends today. And it’s the biggest lesson, if I could say to anyone, focus on the future, and it will give you deliverance in a shorter period of time. So that’s what we’ve done.

How would you describe your management style when it comes to the role of team principal?

It’s brutal honesty, and at times it hurts—nothing hidden, everything on show. It’s collaborative; we’re about one team. In my experience, everything is about people and culture, so that’s where I invest all my time and energy. The technology is an output from that, the systems are an output from that, and the process is an output from that. Rarely is it a human being that’s at fault. It’s more how we ask them to do their job.

I really do believe in ‘fail fast’ with the right environment, because that failure really hurts when you do it the right way, but the learning you get on the backside of it is so potent and powerful. All too often, when failure happens, it’s easy to resort to blame. When you resort to blame, there’s no learnings that come out of it. Mine is very much ‘take your learnings,’ because that’s what makes you much stronger in the future.

What has been the impact of having Carlos Sainz on the team?

It showed that we are a serious entity. [We are] not here to take someone else’s drivers or to finance a seat, we are here to make sure we make a stance, that we are fighting for wins. All I did with him is, for a period of six months, show him exactly what we’re doing, and he could see bits of it were transpiring along the journey, which gave him the confidence that we are really here for his goodness and for the long-term investment.

What it also did was [give] the team a step that they haven’t had for many, many years. It’s two really great drivers that, this season, have been instrumental in why we have two podiums to our name, why we have fifth in the Constructors Championship. It’s not by luck; it’s by having a really great set of drivers who are aligned with us. So that’s what Carlos brings.

How would you describe the dynamic between Alex and Carlos as teammates?

The best example I can provide you is the podium at Baku. Alex had a pretty diabolically bad race—crashed in qualifying, didn’t really make progress in the race, and yet, the second he stopped his car, he ran to come join us on the podium. I dare you to find me another team where, when [one] teammate is on the podium, the other one is down next to them; it just doesn’t exist. [Alex] was celebrating the fact that we are on the right journey together at the same time.

What Alex has been doing all year long is taking Carlos through how he’s learned some of the intricacies of the car—it’s not hidden. He knows that it will be at the cost of Carlos potentially being able to out-qualify him. Doesn’t matter. This is about making us better going forward.

How do the new regulations for the 2026 season play to the strengths of Williams?

Next year’s car has been in the wind tunnel since January 2. It’s the earliest date you can put it in there, and we’ve been pretty much solely working on next year’s car. It allows us to really undo five to 10 years’ worth of ways of doing things that are wrong, being blunt. Next year’s car is the biggest change that I can remember in our regulations. It’s a clean sheet of paper. Nothing carries over, not even a bolt. It gives us the opportunity to get what we’ve perhaps not been doing right . . . right. That’s where it plays to Williams’ strength.

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What I’m seeing now is some really nice innovation that’s taking place. And what these regulations allow you to do is to think differently to everyone else, and that can gain you an advantage. It means others can get an advantage, too, but I do think that plays into our strengths somewhat.

What are you most proud of as far as the team’s performance this season?

There are moments that we’ve had to step up and take results, and we have—the podium, the fourth places. Every time the team has taken risks . . . from Baku, executing a really good qualifying strategy, to Melbourne, executing a really good race . . . we’ve sort of been at the front, and when there’s opportunity, we’ve been able to take it, which is part of the reason we are at the points table.

Probably one of the proudest moments isn’t the podium. It was when we booked with the media that we were going to launch the car at 9 a.m. at Silverstone on a particular date, and that date was set four months in advance. That car came together at 4 a.m. [that morning]. That was the first time it was a complete 20,000-component car. [It was] a really proud moment for me to watch it drive out of the garage five hours later. The engineering involved in getting 20,000 bits together in the same place, fitting, and working in the space of a few hours is tremendous, and yet it was achieved.

Where do you still see need for improvement?

Everywhere. There’s not one part of Williams yet that’s at a championship level. Very harsh words for me, but that’s the reality . . . We have to keep stretching ourselves and improving everywhere. That doesn’t matter whether I’m talking about aerodynamics, vehicle dynamics, tires, race strategy, what we’re doing with engineering at the track . . . we still have margin to go before we’re hitting world-championship material in all of those areas. But that has to be the goal. That’s why I’m here.

How do you see Formula 1’s presence growing in the luxury sector, and what does that mean for the sport?

It generally has a perception of a luxury brand; you’ve got LVMH and Tag Heuer as a part of it. What Formula 1 has done really well, and I include our own partner base, is [cover] a whole spectrum, up and down, on where they need to be. And I think one of the things we have to recognize is, it can be treated as a luxury… as one incredible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be there by the track, and you can treat yourself to whichever level of spectator you want to be. But actually, that only constitutes about two percent of our viewing market. The rest are, as you can imagine, online [or on] TV. So we have to make sure that, as a brand, we appeal to 700 million eyes a year . . . rather than just one particular sector.

How do you personally define luxury?

For me, it’s time. That’s the biggest luxury that, if you gave me more of, I would take every second you can give me.