James Vowles' time at Atlassian Williams Racing feels like it's just getting started and yet our Team Principal has already achieved so much in his time at Grove.
The decision for James and Williams to continue the journey is a testament to our trajectory from that first day since he took over in 2023.
James has helmed some memorable moments in our recent history, and we took a look back at his time in charge.
February 2023
When Jost Capito stood down at the end of 2022, he left the door open for a new Team Principal, and we announced that would be James in January 2023.
Our new boss had his first day in the office on February 20th, on a day he described as his proudest F1 moment.
James explained the goosebumps he had as he began the task of managing such an iconic team in the sport.
However, with only eight points from our previous season leaving Williams P10 in the standings, there was a lot of work to do…
JV on Day 1 of Pre-Season Testing in 2023
March 2023
There's no better way to show you mean business than starting a new era with a point-scoring finish.
Alex Albon's advance from P15 to P10 in the season-opening Bahrain GP saw James score his first Williams point in his maiden race as a Team Principal.
June 2023
The early top-10 finish in Sakhir proved an outlier in the early part of 2023.
It took until Canada for the next points to be added to the championship fight, but a sign of our Montreal speed was evident after Albono topped the timesheets in Q2.
A defensive masterclass from Alex one day later saw a P7 finish and six points for the team in our best result in nearly two years.
July 2023
Points secured at his first home Grand Prix with the team
A special livery for our 800th Grand Prix flew the Union Flag in front of our home fans at Silverstone.
This was James' first British GP as a Team Principal, and Alex reached Q3 and then remained in the top 10 in the race to make it an extra special weekend.
Those four points from the P8 finish jumped us to joint P7 in the standings, and with more points from 10 rounds than we managed over the entire previous season.
October 2023
More top 10 finishes followed through the season, and the 2023 US Grand Prix brought the first double-points result of James' tenure.
Logan Sargeant made sure Austin will always be a special place by becoming a point-scoring F1 driver in front of his home crowd with a P10 classification.
Alex was just up the road, too, making it two Williams cars in the points, and a new landmark for James.
November 2023
P7 secured in Abu Dhabi
A rollercoaster season concluded in Abu Dhabi with our rivals pushing us close over the final rounds.
The team's earlier work in the year was enough to fend off the charge, though, and James ended his first season in charge with a P7 finish in the Constructors' World Championship.
With Pat Fry officially joining Grove as CTO in November, too, the team continued to change shape under James' leadership.
May 2024
The season’s first point came at the Jewel in the Crown.
James repaid Alex's continued strong performances by extending his contract into F1's new era.
Albono promptly showed his gratitude by speeding to Q3 around Monte Carlo and securing P9 for our first Monaco points since 2017.
June 2024
The foundation-laying of future success continued over 2024, and James brought in five key signings ahead of the Austrian GP.
Matt Harman, Fabrice Moncade, Richard Frith, Steve Winstanley, and Juan Molina joined Pat Fry's technical team.
Investment in facilities and people has been at the forefront of James' Grove ambition, and his recruitment is already bearing fruit.
Of course, James soon hired another top name…
Climb the leaderboard!
Will you be the quickest Atlassian Williams Racing fan? Play Circuit Breaker to find out...
July 2024
The signing of a proven race winner who had options to join works F1 outfits is proof of the belief James has cultivated for his long-term Williams vision.
Carlos Sainz was the key driver of the 2024 driver market, and the four-time winner decided to join Grove after his good feelings about James and Dorilton.
A busy July also saw James get behind the wheel of a FW08 at Goodwood, where he, Alex, Logan, and Lia Block participated in the iconic hill climb.
Their time in our 1982 car followed another point-scoring home race, too, as Alex took P9 in the British GP adorned with another special livery.
September 2024
Baku celebrations...
The best finish of James’ first two seasons came in Baku after Alex and Franco Colapinto took the FW46 to P7 and P8 in the Azerbaijan GP.
The Argentinian driver had impressed on his debut in Italy a fortnight earlier, before qualifying as the lead Williams on the banks of the Caspian Sea.
February 2025
Williams' growing ambitions and James' leadership led to the significant commercial announcement ahead of the 2025 season when Atlassian joined as the team's title partner.
The multi-year deal added Atlassian to the team name, along with the globally respected company becoming Official Technology Partner and Official Collaboration Software Partner.
The team chose to launch the car with a live rollout at Silverstone – a clear signal of intent.
March 2025
JV and Carlos ahead of the 2025 season opener
The advancement of Williams in James' two years in charge came into full focus in the season-opening Australian GP.
Both cars reached Q3, with Alex equalling his best dry-weather Williams Qualifying result with P6.
The P5 finish in the race became our best full-length Grand Prix result since 2017, and there was even more to come.
Celebrations after Alex's P5 in Melbourne
June 2025
James' contract extension is a statement of belief from both team and Team Principal.
Regular top-10 finishes by both cars have seen Williams outscore our combined tally from the three preceding seasons.
It's a mark of the direction the team has gone since he took charge, and we can't wait to continue making history together.
Related Tags:
Powered By
© the Williams Group, under licence to Williams IP Holdings LLC
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited is a company registered in England and Wales under company number 1297497.
Its registered office is at Grove, Wantage, Oxfordshire, OX12 0DQ
Powered By