McLaren’s turnaround in the last 18 months in Formula 1 has been nothing short of remarkable, with the team going from finishing last to winning the Constructors’ Championship.
It’s ascendance to being one of F1’s big four teams is the result of hard work behind the scenes, employing key personnel, while also taking advantage of their resources.
After promoting Andrea Stella to the role of team principal, there was a big reshuffle in the background with ex-Red Bull aerodynamicist Peter Prodromou being promoted to a car design role.
Rob Marshall was also recruited from Red Bull midway through 2023, which kickstarted their turnaround as he worked alongside Prodromou in improving their car’s performance.
McLaren did not look like title contenders at the start of 2024, but efficient upgrades coupled with consistency from their drivers enabled them to mount an unlikely challenge on the Red Bull and Max Verstappen juggernaut.
Now talk has turned to who the next success story is likely to be within the team, and Marc Priestley has eyed one £981 million-valued F1 team when speaking on the Track Limits podcast based on how they are approaching the 2026 regulations.
Marc Priestley thinks Williams will achieve success in the next two to three years
Williams has been honest about writing off its chances in 2025 with a view of focusing on the opportunities for 2026, which has been a main theme of James Vowles tenancy as team principal.
Vowles identified the areas where Williams can improve and instantly made an impact, with the team finishing seventh in the Constructors in 2023. They slipped back to ninth in 2024 owing to a few incidents at the end of the season, but the potential is there for Williams to grow.
Priestley has put a timeline on when he thinks it will be possible for the team to recapture its glory years and win races again, even likening them to being the next McLaren.
“Williams will be the next cycle of success. It seems like a crazy thing to say when they’re at the back of the grid, but that’s what happened at McLaren. A year or two, maybe three years, Williams will be back at the front and it will be because of the things James Vowles and his team are building right now,” said Priestley.
What everyone is saying about Williams at the start of 2025 season
Williams had one of the most productive tests in Bahrain out of all 10 teams, with Carlos Sainz impressing by going quickest of all on the second day.
Their pace was an indication that all the other top teams were sandbagging, but it also showed Williams had made significant progress.
READ MORE: All to know about Williams Racing from team principal to Mercedes ties
They completed a total of 395 laps between Sainz and Alex Albon, which put them fifth in the table of overall laps completed over the three days.
Despite their optimistic testing form, Williams engineers are said to be ‘nervous’ behind the scenes and do not want to get carried away.
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