James Vowles is looking to return Williams to the front of the field after years of underperformance.
Since joining the Grove-based outfit as team principal in 2023 after 12 years at Mercedes, Vowles has sought to lead Williams forward. They have not won a race since Pastor Maldonado’s victory in Barcelona in 2012.
George Russell’s podium at Spa in 2021 – awarded after the race was cancelled due to poor weather – was the last time the team finished in the top three. Heading into 2025, Williams are pushing to change that.
Vowles has recruited Carlos Sainz after his exit from Ferrari. Retaining Alex Albon on a long-term contract, the Grove-based outfit have two leaders capable of extracting results and pushing the boundaries.
Albon and Sainz have already had a great impact behind the scenes as they look to motivate the Williams staff to push themselves. The team finished ninth in the constructors’ championship in 2024 with just 17 points.
Williams’ impressive driver line-up is just the start for Vowles as looks to build the organisation up ahead of the 2026 regulations. The team have serious potential for the future, and Jenson Button is loving what the 45-year-old is doing.
Jenson Button lauds James Vowles’ ‘phenomenal’ leadership at Williams
The 2009 champion worked closely with Vowles throughout his F1 career. Starting together at BAR, Button had the engineer as a key figure for his title win with Brawn before he left for McLaren – Vowles went on to win eight constructors’ titles with Mercedes.
Speaking at Silverstone for the launch of Williams’ 2025 challenger – the FW47 – via Sky Sports F1, Button lauded Vowles’ ‘phenomenal’ leadership. He thinks it has brought ‘everyone together’ at Grove.
“When you listen to James talk about Formula 1 and this team, the passion really shines through,” he said.
“But you need more than that obviously and for me, I’ve worked with James for many years, all the way back to 2003 when he was our strategist at BAR. And when I won the world championship, James was there.
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“So he’s seen it all, he’s been there, he’s done that. He’s worked with the best teams, the best drivers. And he really brings that to this team, that experience.
“His leadership I must say has been phenomenal the last couple of years I’ve been able to work with him. He brings so much.
“And I think everyone looks up to him, he brings everyone together. Normally when there’s a bit of leadership in a team, some people want to do it the old way and some people want to move forward and try new things.
“Everyone has just listened to him, everyone’s come together and we see the progress with this team and a lot of it is because of that leadership.”
Carlos Sainz has already reported issues with Williams machinery
Williams will be looking to improve in 2025 after a difficult season last year. While Franco Colapinto did prove to be a positive after replacing Logan Sargeant, several costly crashes for the duo and Albon held the team back throughout the year.
Vowles will not want a repeat of that in 2025 and will hope the FW47 can be more competitive than its predecessor with Albon and Sainz at the wheel.
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Sainz reported issues in high-speed corners during his first Williams test in Barcelona. This will be something the team must work on heading into the first race of the season in Melbourne.
It may explain why the Spaniard looked to push with the FW47 at Silverstone. Button loved how Sainz went flat out at turn one – highlighting how much he will take the car to the absolute limit.
The 30-year-old will likely not repeat his results with Ferrari last season with Williams straight away. But alongside Albon, he will be a key part of the team’s exciting project.
