Williams want to be ahead of the curve: 'Working on the 2026 and 2027 car'
F1 News
James Vowles is currently hoping to complete an ambitious project at Williams. The British team principal was able to re-sign Alexander Albon, and then he manage to get the signature of Carlos Sainz, who will join the Grove-based team from Ferrari. Moreover, Briton's are signing important figures, who could help develop their car.
Indeed, the current Williams car is not where James Vowles also wants it to be, it is something the British team principal has acknowledged. "I think there was more we could have achieved if the car was on the weight limit. We're still overweight today, but there are updates coming. We have updates coming after the summer break. I hope in Zandvoort, and then I hope again in Baku or the race after Baku, something that brought up, which I think is Singapore. In our worlds now, in the world of Formula 1, they're big steps," he explained to GPblog among others, although he also underlined these are just plans at the moment.
The team principal remains optimistic that Williams can get to fight for points this season. The team are currently ninth in the constructors' standings, with only for four points to Alexander Albon's name.
"What I can tell you is there's substantive numbers that should add up to us being back in a position of fighting for points and it's achieved for a number of things. It's aerodynamic updates, you're going to see a suspension update, and you're going to see weight coming off the car. So it's fundamentally three core roots whereby we're doing this we're also investing in '25," Vowles added.
'Williams now plan ahead'
Talking about the team's future, with Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz signed to multi-year contracts, Vowles are planning far ahead also. "Our car is not a '24 car in the wind tunnel, it's been '25 for quite a few months and that won't surprise you."
He continued: "I want to get the '26 car in the tunnel as soon as possible, but have a sense of the '25 season. That fundamentally what we are doing, everything we are doing is basically forward borrowing against getting everything as quickly as possible into '26. Within our team, we've separated the team out now with the additional resource. We have team members focused on '24, '25, '26 and a little bit on '27 as well at the same time. And that's a change for Williams," Vowles declared.