James Vowles: 'We’re on the right journey – trust the process'

Team Principal James Vowles is optimistic about Atlassian Williams Racing’s hopes of success in 2026 – but is taking a balanced approach to expectations for next season.

There’s plenty of positivity around Williams at present, following Carlos Sainz’s podium finish in Azerbaijan last time out.

And with Alex Albon putting in 11 point-scoring performances across the season to date, there’s little doubt that this has been a campaign to remember.

There are still seven races to go, of course, but attention is already turning to next term, when new Formula 1 regulations are set to be introduced.

A question regarding targets for 2026 was put to James in the latest episode of The Vowles Verdict, presented by Kraken, to which the 46-year-old provided a considered answer.

“I think what I’ve said all the way along is [that there are] some positives and negatives for everyone to acknowledge,” he explained.

“I’m confident that we as Williams will step forward every year, going forward from here onwards.

“That’s important to know – we’re on a good pathway, we’re investing in a good way.

“[However] There’s a ‘but’. We still have a long way to go.

“This is one podium, and the giants out there are able to get on the podium every week and win races, and we have a long way to go before we’re able to achieve that.

“And in one year, we won’t fix everything that we need to fix.

“But my ask of you is to stay with us. I hope what everyone can see is we’re on the right journey – trust the process.

“There's a lot of good things to come, but be by Williams’ side when it happens.”

James also reflected on what Carlos’ P3 placing meant to him and the team in his post-Baku assessment, saying:

“It’s hard to express just what this result meant to the team, but safe to say it’s a huge amount.”

“I’m proud of Carlos. It’s not been the easiest of years, and yet he did an absolutely incredible job all weekend long to bring home, certainly the first podium for me whilst I’ve been with Williams, and one that the team absolutely relished and celebrated.

“I’m proud of Alex. He absolutely showed the sportsperson that he is when he came underneath the podium [and] immediately wanted to celebrate as part of the team.

“It meant a huge amount to him, as it did to myself and to everyone else.

“And I’m proud of the team. We have to recognise where we have come from, and where we are today isn’t the end of our journey by any stretch of the imagination – it’s the end of the beginning, in some regards. “But I’m proud of how we pulled together and fixed problems in Qualifying over the last 10 days or so.

“How every single race, almost, we’ve been building up towards getting better and better results – how we execute, how we work together, how we deliver.

“There’s not one area that’s the same as before. We’ve been gently improving all of them, and I think [it was a] just reward [in Baku] – and an earned reward as well, it’s important to say.

“It wasn’t a wet race, it wasn’t a well-timed Safety Car. This was very much earned from start to finish.

“That result means a huge amount to us.”

Discover more of James’ thoughts on the Azerbaijan Grand Prix by tuning in to the most-recent edition of The Vowles Verdict, presented by Kraken.