Shop
New Williams team principal James Vowles is focusing his efforts on the squad’s medium- and long-term more than its 2023 F1 chances.
Vowles joined the Grove-based squad this week from Mercedes and has spent his first days getting to know the people within the organisation.
Beyond that, his energies will go into developing the team beyond the current campaign, reasoning his arrival is too late to make an impact this year.
“There’s no single solution that suddenly finds you a few tenths or half a second, it just doesn’t exist, it is 1000 small details done to a small improvement,” he noted in a video posted to the team’s website.
“Within this year, within 2023, we have the car that we have at the moment.
“What I’m actually looking for is the foundational steps that are put in place that allow us to be better in ’24, in ’25, and in ’26.
“So in other words, what I’m trying to do is not do any short-term game for the benefit of 2023, but rather put in place mechanisms that allow us to be strong in steps for each of those years.”
Williams fell to 10th in the constructors’ championship last year having climbed to eighth in 2021.
It has retained Alex Albon for the coming season, with American rookie Logan Sargeant graduating from Formula 2 in the squad’s second car.
However, Vowles added that his focus on improvements beyond 2023 does not mean the current campaign is a write-off.
“I’m not going to the track this year, and we’re not going to the track this year hoping [but not working for better results],” he added.
“I’m going there putting our heart and passion into making sure we do everything we can.
“But really, this is not about ’23 anymore, it’s about the long-term vision of the company.”
Formula 1 pre-season testing kicks off in Bahrain tomorrow and runs through to Saturday.
The opening round of the season, also in Bahrain, takes place from March 2-5.
