Vowles: Williams positive developments hidden from public view
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Despite a challenging 2024 season that saw Williams finish ninth in the constructors' championship, team boss James Vowles insists significant, albeit invisible, progress happened behind the scenes.
Amid a season of trials and transitions, the Grove-based squad faced significant challenges during its most recent campaign.
With substantial crashes involving Alex Albon, Logan Sargeant, and rookie Franco Colapinto, the team's results and finances took a hit.
Yet, Vowles is confident these struggles don't tell the full story of the team's growth and development.
"The main thing is this: a lot of the really positive bits the world can't see," Vowles said, quoted by Motorsport.com.
"I can walk around the building and just see excellence that has race-winning pedigree all a part of our team now.
"I can see a change in what we're doing with infrastructure, culture, people, commercial even – it's just a different world.
Vowles has been spearheading a massive restructuring effort since taking the helm in early 2023, with an emphasis on recruiting top talent.
High-profile hires like chief technical officer Pat Fry and design director Matt Harman, who both transferred from Alpine, and chief engineer in computing science Fabrice Moncade, who was hired from Ferrari, have all injected fresh expertise into Williams' ranks.
Frustrations on the Track
"I've always said the journey is 2023, '24, '25 – they're just progression and the track results won't necessarily reflect the really big changes going on behind the scenes," Vowles explained.
Still, for Williams' team principal, ninth place in the Constructors' standings stings.
"Do I think ninth fully reflects what we've achieved? No," he said.
"There's some really good technology gains coming through, and there's some really great things coming in the future. That's what my focus has been on.
"Does it frustrate me we're ninth? Yes, absolutely, because I still like to come to the race weekend and get everything out of it, and we haven't this year.
"We've been really hurt by quite significant amounts of attrition. We've been hurt by [our] own changing technologies that produced a car that wasn't on the weight limit and we just haven't been able to show the world what we can do.
Glimpses of Potential
While 2024 saw more lows than highs, there were flashes of brilliance.
The team made 10 Q3 appearances – eight by Albon and two by Colapinto – but delivered just six points finishes.
Several strong qualifying runs, including a second-place effort in Brazil by Albon and a Q3 push in Las Vegas by Colapinto, were undone by crashes.
"We have to remember that the pace is there, but we're not delivering on it as well," Vowles said.
"And that's a team. I never put any onus on any one individual. That's the team that is fundamentally – we're not quite delivering it all together. And that's the secret behind it.
"We need everything to move forward together. You need your reliability, your design, your performance, your drivers, your holistic strategy, how it all comes together, to move forward at the right rate."
Eyes on the Future
Vowles is clear-eyed about the timeline for Williams' resurgence. While 2024 was a season of laying groundwork, the results of these changes won't fully materialize for several years.
"The only way the world will really see it is through progress now chunking in 2025, '26, '27," added the Briton.
Even so, Vowles remains focused on the team's potential and lessons learned from 2024.
"I'm going to remember we were up there in second in Brazil qualifying before Alex had an accident," he reflected.
"We were up there in Q3 potential in Las Vegas with Franco before we had an accident. I hate to always bring it back to an accident, but it's the story of the year."
For Williams, the story of 2024 was one of transformation.
While the world may not yet see the full scope of their progress, James Vowles is confident that the team is moving in the right direction.
And when their moment comes, it won't be one anyone can miss.
Williams Racing will unveil its 2025 contender - the FW47 - at Silverstone on February 14.
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