Williams boss James Vowles: ‘Off-track drama in Formula 1? It’s the bit I enjoy’

Williams team principal James Vowles on the magic of the British Grand Prix, engineering change, pursuing Carlos Sainz Jr and why he loves the off-track drama in Formula 1.

James Vowles is sitting on the couch of his corner office at Williams Racing’s headquarters in a region of England that is to motorsport what Silicon Valley is to big tech.   

He is vividly recalling his teenage self making a first trip to Silverstone – just 40 miles up the A34 – where the eyes of the Formula 1 world will be trained this weekend for the British Grand Prix.

“It was a sort of pilgrimage,” he tells City A.M. “And there was an Arrows and a Williams going around testing, because back in those days you’d be testing every week near enough. 

“It’s the first time I ever got to hear one of these cars and see them up close, and I guess it stands out as the first time outside of TV that I got to actually experience Formula 1.”

It lit a fire in Vowles and more than 25 years on – most of it spent in the cut and thrust of elite motor racing – returning to the iconic Northamptonshire circuit still elicits special feelings in the Williams F1 principal.

“The fan base is what makes it. It’s extraordinary,” he says. “Even at 9am there are thousands of fans and it’s more than any other track by a country mile. 

“It’s not being biased because I’m English, it’s just the fan base love it and will make it their lives and their weekend to be there and share it with you every second of the way.”

Sunday’s race marks the culmination of a triple header of F1 grands prix in Spain, Austria and now Britain in consecutive weeks, but excitement levels have been building for some time.

“It’s not just the week of the build-up, you feel it several weeks before where Silverstone just has more emotion, more soul attached to it than other events,” says Vowles.

“And it’s not just that this is the home grand prix for the organisation, I think it’s also how rich it is as a circuit in terms of meaning, in terms of results for us as well.”

Williams have enjoyed 10 wins at the British Grand Prix – behind only Ferrari and McLaren – including eight at Silverstone for the likes of Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Alain Prost.

They haven’t taken the chequered flag since 1997 as Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull have variously dominated F1 but Alex Albon’s eighth place and Logan Sargeant’s 11th were highlights of an encouraging 2023 season.

“One of my best feelings was last year,” says Vowles. “A home Grand Prix with a livery that I personally believe is a good representation of where we come from and where we’re going, and to be quick all weekend was a fantastic feeling.”

Vowles on 2026 and Williams targeting Sainz

Williams finished seventh in the constructor standings last year, their best showing for six years, but have just two points in 2024, a tally better only than Sauber.

Vowles believes they were “too ambitious” with modifications to the car and expects results to improve in the short term, but insists he is happy with the overarching project of reinvigorating one of the grid’s best-loved teams and readying them for F1’s new regulations in 2026.

“The hard thing about what we’re doing is focusing on rebuilding everything and transforming an organisation that is still trying to go out there racing,” he says. 

“The only way you can do that is to compromise where you are at the moment and make sure you invest in the future. We’re investing money in the future. And I’m comfortable with that.

“Do I have regrets? No, because I think you have to challenge what you’re doing in order to move forward. But does it hurt turning up at every race weekend and not scoring points? Yes.

“The goals we’re setting aren’t about championship position. There was no goal set for this year or next year. If we finish last, so be it, as long as we’re making the right choices for ‘26 and ‘27.”

Part of that process has seen Vowles recruit former Ferrari and McLaren engineering guru Pat Fry, plus dozens more experienced technical staff poached from rival teams.

Next up is a new driver, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr identified as Williams’ No1 target to replace Sargeant from 2025, although they face competition for the Spaniard.

“I think he would fit very well here but there are three other teams that also think he’ll fit very well within their structure and organisation,” says Vowles.

“He has a winning pedigree. He’s shown this year and last year that when it matters, he delivers. 

“It’s fierce competition out there and right now we’re on the back foot because we’re not performing at the level that we need to in order to attract someone of his quality and calibre. 

“I’m aware of that but I can’t let go of the long-term vision. It’s down to him to decide what to buy into.”

Chess behind the scenes and Red Bull dominance

Driver signings are just one of the intriguing sub-plots in an age of F1 that, thanks to the popularity of Netflix show Drive To Survive, feels more personality-led than ever.

Team bosses such as Red Bull’s Christian Horner and Mercedes rival Toto Wolff and the often bitter clashes between them have become another part of the show.

“That’s the exciting bit, to be honest. What happens on track is the simple bit,” says Vowles, a former protege of Wolff who left Mercedes to take charge at Williams 18 months ago. 

“It’s always been there. It’s just you haven’t seen a lot of it. It’s the bit I enjoy. You do strategy on track but there’s a far bigger chess game going on behind the scenes. 

“How do you get the regulations where you need to to help yourself? How do you have the right alliances that move you forward? How do you have the right drivers? 

“That has always been going on behind the scenes and none more so than the moment – just more exposed by Netflix, but in a good way I think.”

British Grand Prix week brings extra activity, such as this week’s fan zone in Piccadilly Circus, and more mixing with partners who include THG, parent company of City A.M.

It will also be another test of Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s iron grip on F1, which has loosened a little, the Dutch three-time champion winning only one of the last four races. 

Naturally, Vowles welcomes the increased competition which he puts down to a natural closing of the gap by rivals following a period of regulatory stability.

“What you’re seeing is that closeness now having an impact. I think that’s a good thing. You don’t want a sport [where] we can predict what’s happening,” he says. 

“But we still have to be honest that the team that comes out on top most of the time is Red Bull. They’re being caught over time. But I think it’s Verstappen’s to lose this year.”