Williams set to ‘compromise' in 2025 in pursuit of 2026 success

Williams team principal James Vowles has warned fans that the British outfit is likely to struggle in 2025 as it throws its full weight behind Formula 1’s major regulation overhaul coming in 2026.

The rule changes, which will reset the field with lighter cars, active aerodynamics and a reworked power unit relying on electric power for 50% of its output, will represent a significant opportunity for Williams to return to the competitive forefront.

And the Grove-based outfit is prepared to seize this opportunity even if it means sacrificing short-term success.

For many years, Williams navigated turbulent waters but the team’s acquisition by Dorilton Capital in 2020 has enabled the team to restructure itself financially which in turn has helped it rebuild its foundation and improve its infrastructure.

While F1’s third most successful outfit on the grid has made headway, Vowles views 2026 as the year when Williams will truly target a resurgence, which means that 2025 might come with some painful sacrifices.

“It’s the message that Alex and Carlos both know: 2025 will be a struggle, I think,” Vowles told Motorsport.com. “It’s not that you’re going to see us moving forward, we’re going to move back a little bit.

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“And if we are, I’m okay with that, because it simply says that I’m investing at the right rate for ‘26 compared to those around me.

“That’s what we should be expecting from it: we are going to compromise ’25. That doesn’t mean we’ll be tenth, but it’s going to be a hard year.”

After finishing seventh in F1’s 2023 Constructors’ Championship, Williams endured a rocky start to its 2024 season, with only four points scored before the summer break.

But the team showed resilience, and with the weight issues impacting its FW46 largely resolved, it eventually enjoyed an upswing in form that manifested itself at Monza, where Alex Albon finished P9, and in Baku where both Albon and teammate Franco Colapinto – who had replaced Logan Sargeant from the Italian GP – finished in the top ten.

“I think we were fortunate to finish seventh last year,” Vowles said. “RB was bloody quick at the end of the year, and it was really just a matter of one strategic call, almost, that defined who finished ahead in the championship. We still finished seventh.

“This year’s car was performing. I think I was quite open in how overweight we were. Just take that time off and you’ll see that we shouldn’t be where we are in the championship.

“Now that we’ve had the performance, taking the weight off the car, we’re back to where I would have expected us to be – which is therefore not a step backwards.”

Although Williams is evidently on a more stable footing, Vowles is looking beyond immediate improvements, determined to rely on a bold approach, accepting that some failures are inevitable as the team pushes the envelope in preparation for 2026.

“We are trying to do leaps – not steps forward, not inching forward, not minimal gains, or marginal gains even, but leaps in the technology and what we’re doing,” the Briton explained.

“And in doing so, we’re going to trip ourselves up. And I’m comfortable with that, because we can’t unlearn what we’ve learned.

“I give you almost a guarantee: unfortunately, we’re going to trip ourselves again. I don’t think it’d be in ‘25, for what it’s worth. I think we’ve got enough of a good pathway to lead us there.

“I think in ’26, what we’re asking of the organisation is more than we can deliver. So we’ve got to make it fit or perhaps trip up a little bit along the way.”

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