Vowles: Williams won’t be tempted into short-term traps again

Williams had no doubts about turning its full attention to the 2026 Formula 1 regulations before the current season began, and it won’t be tempted to shift its approach now.

In a midfield battle decided by tenths – if not hundredths of a second – with a potential fifth place in the constructors’ standings up for grabs, it is extremely tempting to give 2025 development one final push before fully switching tools to the new regulations for 2026.

The prize money difference between finishing at the rear and grabbing fifth – currently occupied by Haas, which is one point ahead of Williams – can amount to as much of $40million.

But Williams has decided not to be dragged into that game of brinkmanship, having resolutely stayed on course and gone all out on 2026.

The battle to be best of the rest

The outfit is still far away from the modern, well-oiled machine team boss James Vowles wants it to be, but the time of short-term thinking at Grove lies in the past. And, with the long-term support of owner Dorilton Capital, it won’t be coming back.

“If I had to, I would have removed the car from the wind tunnel myself,” Vowles told select media, including Motorsport.com. “There is only one way to win and you can’t get caught in the now.

“Let’s be completely straightforward. We’re in a mess because we were short-termist all the way through the last 20 years. Some of it financially driven, some of it driven by other elements, but there has to be investment, and to be clear, investment is about five years forward to get yourself into the right position of leaving.

“It wasn’t difficult at all [to shift focus to 2026] because part of the reason why I joined this entity is we had a pretty frank discussion from the very beginning over it. It will take this long, it will take this amount of investment, and we cannot be driven by short-termism and it was completely aligned and agreed from the outset.”

That doesn’t mean 2025 has to be a complete write-off, as the team did make significant steps compared to last year despite still suffering from various limitations with its factory infrastructure, some of which won’t be improved before 2027.

Some of its underlying weaknesses and handling characteristics, which Carlos Sainz has been wrapping his head around since his arrival from Ferrari, won’t be fully addressed this year. But Vowles feels the team can still get more out of the car as it currently runs.

“We have some characteristics in the car that are still not at the right level,” he explained. “I don’t think we have the balance that we should do for the drivers, and we’re a little bit cornered on some of the tools that we’re using at the moment.

“There’s some elements that we can bring in line this year. I think some of it, however, is actually a different direction that we need to take for the future. My feeling is that we’ll be able to scratch it, but not fix it. We have a series of sticky plasters we can put on. I do not think that we can inherently fix it in 2025.”

Midfield rivals are likely going to follow Williams’ example soon, so they don’t get left behind next year. So, just how well Alex Albon and Sainz, who has been gradually getting more comfortable aboard the FW47, and their team can exploit the full potential of Williams’ current package will determine just how far it can go this year.

But, as tantalising as the prospect of finishing fifth might be, Williams won’t be tempted to repeat past mistakes, and will stick to its guns.