Vowles: Next year’s car is a “global” effort
Our Team Principal gives a glimpse into the priority development areas for next year’s car
Published
06 NOV 2026
Est. reading time
2 min
Mexico City ended with Atlassian Williams F1 Team finishing P11 and P12 on the edge of the points after post-race penalties, but Team Principal James Vowles remained clear that the focus is still firmly on learning for 2027.
“In terms of the race, for us, we’re still not where we want to be performance-wise,” he shared on the latest episode of The Vowles Verdict, presented by Kraken.
With that in mind, Vowles outlined the areas the team are working to improve ahead of next season, explaining how a combination of factors will influence the performance of the 2027 car.
“In terms of performance next year, it’s really not one aspect. Clearly aerodynamics forms a part of it, but so does weight, how you construct certain stiffness and the layout of the car.
“All of it has an impact on where the performance goes globally, because it’s a function not just of aerodynamic load but of how your balance is from the point where the driver hits the brakes, gets to the corner and exits the corner.
“Those three phases absolutely have to have a balance that allows the driver to maximise it to the limit in slow, medium and high-speed corners.
“So the work we’re doing at the moment is to really focus on all of those and create the tools that enable us to get the most out of the car next year. It’s not one area, it’s globally across the car.”
Vowles also pointed to the progress made in Mexico.
“Obviously the gaps are small. The positives are that we did a lot of work in making sure the car was able to get to the end of the race: a lot of work on cooling the power unit to the right level, and the brakes.
“Earlier this year we suffered, and we were able to correct that with really good management and get ourselves into a stronger place, pushing near enough every lap of the race.”
Luke will be back in the car for FP1 this weekend
The team head to Brazil this weekend focused on learning more to push forward in 2027, with Luke Browning in the car again for FP1.
“It’s a fantastic track. It’s also one where weather typically plays a part – I remember many a year where we’ve been stationary in the pit lane while large floods of water make their way down the opening turn.
“It’s easier to overtake in Brazil than it is in Mexico. It’s also a track at altitude, though, and presents its own set of challenges. So there’s lots to go and learn there. Luke will be taking over in FP1, another opportunity for him to learn the car and develop next year’s car.”
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