Williams Team Principal Admits 'Tough' Season But Sees 'Tremendous Potential'

Sunday, 10 December 2023 at 03:00

Williams team principal James Vowles recently shared the 2023 season has been very challenging as the team was not at the level he expected when he joined the team.

The 2023 season was not only the first for Logan Sargeant in the Williams F1 team, but it was also the first season for the new team principal, James Vowles.

The team principal joined the team that finished last in the Championship during four of the five previous Formula One seasons.

While Williams managed to move up and finish the 2023 season seventh in the Constructors' Championship, Vowles shared it has been more challenging than he anticipated:

"In terms of how hard it's been. It's been tough, there's no doubt about this. When I came here, things were perhaps not at the level I thought they were going to be, they were far behind."

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The team principal shared two perspectives. On one hand, there is a long journey ahead of the Williams as the team is far behind according to the principal:

"And for a period of time, for hours in fact, you reflect on it as: 'Wow, we've got a big journey in front of us.'"

On the other hand, the 44-year-old shared that it is incredible the team is where it is at the moment, with huge potential for improvement, which is positive.

"But the counter to it is, if we are here today with a car on the grid, how great would this organization be once we put some structure and systems around it and some proper infrastructure behind the scenes?"

Vowles said thinking in this positive manner helped him throughout the season. Williams finished seventh despite basically sacrificing the 2023 season for a better car in 2024, and that is promising. Williams team principal concluded: