James Vowles: “We’re a Team on the Up”

Team Principal James Vowles has consistently put people at the heart of Atlassian Williams Racing’s journey back to the front of the grid – and, as the 2025 season unfolds, it’s clear that collective spirit is powering momentum both on and off the track.

Speaking on the latest episode of The Vowles Verdict, presented by Kraken, he underlined the importance of that unity.

“Team morale – it is really critical for me,” Vowles explained. “I will always mention this, but the success that we have as Williams is because we have [over] 1,000 individuals that believe in what we're doing, all pointing the right way and giving everything to this journey.”

As results continue to build, JV was quick to pay tribute to the energy behind the scenes as much as the action on track.

“There is a meeting that I've just come out of where the energy is palpable in the room,” he said. “You can feel it from all involved. We have to make sure we direct it the right way, we still have a lot to fix and change for our future, but this momentum will keep us going for many months to come.”

The team is in a run of form the likes of which it has not seen for almost a decade, scoring in six of the first seven rounds of the 2025 campaign. It’s a shift in performance that has been hard to miss.

“What a difference 12 months, or perhaps even six to eight months, makes,” JV reflected. “Across multiple events in 2025, we are now fighting for points with both cars. Across certainly the last two or three events, I think we've really established ourselves as a team that across different circuit characteristics, across different tyre types, are able to still put that car in point scoring position.”

Progress has not come without its challenges, but that, says Vowles, is exactly the point.

“We haven't got it all right. There's no doubt about that,” he acknowledged. “But equally, that is the journey that we're on as a team. There are 100 small details that we're clearing up along the way.

“But what I enjoy and what I like to see is that the team is stepping up to the challenge all the way through. Every time we face adversity, it's an open discussion about how we improve this going forward. Because that's what's led us to this position already – and that's what will lead us to further success in the future.”

With momentum building and a shared belief propelling the team forward, Vowles is clear on the mood at Grove: “We're a team that's on the up, and it is a fantastic feeling.”

To hear more from our Team Principal, including his learnings from our double points finish in Imola, catch the latest episode of The Vowles Verdict, presented by Kraken: