Williams is experiencing a 2026 Formula 1 season start far below expectations, and James Vowles acknowledged that the team made significant mistakes in preparing for this year. The team principal stated that the priority now is to fix the identified flaws to regain competitiveness throughout the championship.
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After nine rounds, Williams is only in eighth place in the constructors’ championship, with eleven points scored. The performance represents a significant drop compared to the fifth place achieved last season, a result that raised expectations for the start of the new regulations cycle.
Speaking during the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, Vowles admitted that the team failed to get the car development right during the off-season. According to him, the focus for the second half of the season will be to identify the problems and start a recovery process compared to the competitors.
“It is impossible to answer exactly what the second half of the year will be like. The reality is that we did not do everything right during the break. Our job now is to analyze everything deeply and start making progress relative to the rest of the grid,” he said.
The manager explained that Williams will need to correct decisions that, in his assessment, simply did not work: “It is about undoing some elements that, frankly, were wrong and getting back on the right track. That is the picture of our second half of the season,” he said.
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Vowles also emphasized that the team is looking beyond immediate results: “We know we are not yet at a level to win, and I have always been very clear about that. We will fight for everything possible this year, but the main goal is to fix everything we did wrong for the future,” he added.
The engineer also commented on the opportunity to drive the FW18, the car with which Damon Hill won the title in 1996, during the Goodwood Festival of Speed. According to him, the experience served as a rare moment of satisfaction amid the difficulties faced by the team this season.
“It is a dream come true. I used to watch this car on TV while Damon fought for the championship, so being able to drive it is something special. I can assure you it is very fast and a pleasure to drive. Sometimes the work is hard, but experiences like this make up for everything, without a doubt,” Vowles concluded.
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