James Vowles – Syndication Server

Vowles explains Sargeant call and Colapinto choice over Lawson, Schumacher

Williams team principal James Vowles says he was convinced Logan Sargeant had reached the limit of his performance and revealed what led him to pick Franco Colapinto over more experienced options to replace the American. Sargeant was dropped after …

Sargeant was dropped after last Sunday’s race in Zandvoort, with rookie Colapinto taking over from this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix onwards. The change came after months of speculation regarding Sargeant’s future and a heavy crash in practice, and Vowles (pictured at right, above, with Colapinto, middle) says it was a move he didn’t want to make but felt he had to as he didn’t see any further potential progression on the cards.

“If you speak to every team principal up and down the pit lane, no one wants to change a driver mid-season,” Vowles said. “It’s horrible. It is incredibly tough on the driver, it’s tough on the team, it is disruptive to say the least. The cleanest point to have done it would have been at the beginning of the year.

“Logan at the end of last year was starting to get within a tenth of Alex [Albon] and if that progression continued I think we would have seen a driver in a very strong place this year, and it didn’t feel like the right point to sever ties as a result of it.

“The reason now is straightforward — we’ve had enough experience under our belt to know he’s reached the limit of what he’s able to achieve, and in fact it’s almost unfair on him furthermore to continue with him. If you look at his face when he gets out of the car, he’s given you everything he possibly can, and it’s not enough.

“He absolutely never from a human perspective gave me anything other than 100% of what he’s able to do, but the realization of where he is on his limits now is very clear; it’s clear to everyone, and more than that, the relationship can only become more and more difficult across the last nine races because he knows what his future holds, which is not to be in F1 anymore.

“Actually a clean break at this stage feels like the correct decision for all parties. It feels like it’s fair to Logan — he won’t feel that way today, but I hope he reflects on it in the future that it is fair towards him in that regard.

Sargeant’s heavy crash in practice at Zandvoort was the last straw in convincing Vowles that his progression as an F1 driver had ended. Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images

“Changing between back-to-back races really is an awful thing to do, which hopefully shows you where we are in this. And to be very clear to everyone it wasn’t just based on an accident, it was based on in the race he had all of the parts that Alex had available to him, but the performance wasn’t there, he was lacking in that area, and the gap’s almost as big as it was last year.”

Colapinto was a surprising choice given his lack of experience, with the Argentinian competing in his first season of Formula 2 this year but now stepping up for the final nine races. Vowles says he informed Sargeant of the decision on Tuesday and while he had two more experienced options he didn’t see Mick Schumacher as a strong enough candidate to pick over a Williams Driver Academy member.

“There were three options on the table — one was Liam Lawson, one was Mick, and one was Franco,” Vowles said. “With Liam the contractual situation with Red Bull wouldn’t have worked with me here at Williams. And then it’s a tough choice, it really is. Mick has improved a lot from where he was with Haas, there’s no doubt about it. He’s a competent driver that I know he had his time, but he has done incredible work with Alpine, with Mercedes, and with McLaren in the meantime, and all advocates will speak with you and tell you where he’s adapted and where he’s changed.

“So now the decision is do we put Mick in the car — and I think Mick would have done a good job — or do we invest in an individual that’s a part of our academy, that’s done hundreds of thousands of laps in the simulator, that’s driven our car –the only driver to do so this year in FP1 — and on the data from what we can see and how he’s performing, he’s making significant steps.

“So it becomes a decision, do we invest in the future or do we invest in someone else as a result of it? Both will fall into a category of good, not special, I think we have to be straightforward about this: Mick isn’t special, he just would have been good.”

So far, so good: Franco Colapinto was only 0.192s slower than new Williams teammate Alex Albon in the second practice session at Monza. Simon Galloway/Motorsport Images

Vowles emphasized Colapinto’s place in the team’s academy was key.

“He [Schumacher] would have come with a lot more experience than Franco does, but here’s what I and Williams believe in, the core values: Williams has always invested in new generations of driver and youth, and what I’ve been speaking about all the way through is the future of Williams, and the future of Williams isn’t in investing in the past, it’s investing in talent that allows us to move forward as individuals.

“It’s investing in an academy — you’ll see announcements in the next six weeks or so how we’re filling up that academy — and the amount of finance we’re putting into it, and when you’re putting that amount of finance into your academy you’ve got to put your actions where your words are as well.

“I myself 25 years ago was junior and someone trusted in me and believed in me and invested in me. Franco’s ahead in the F2 championship of [Kimi] Antonelli, he’s ahead of [Oliver] Bearman, and he’s with MP, which with all due respect to MP it’s not Prema or ART, and he’s doing a good job of building up into it.

“Do I think we’ve put someone into the deep end of the swimming pool? Absolutely, 100%, but if you listen to Franco’s own words you’ll hear that he’s up for it, and he knows what’s in front of him, and he’s ready for the challenge.

“So answering your question, I want to demonstrate to the world that investing in a driver that I hope will become a very successful reserve driver for us, simulator driver for us — and other aspects depending on how he performs — is investing in the future of Williams.”

Beating Audi and Alpine to Sainz deal ‘monumental’ for Williams, Vowles says

James Vowles says Carlos Sainz choosing to join Williams over Audi and Alpine is a “monumental” outcome for his team. Sainz’s future was the center of speculation throughout 2024 prior to the summer break, with the Spaniard set to be replaced by …

James Vowles says Carlos Sainz choosing to join Williams over Audi and Alpine is a “monumental” outcome for his team.

Sainz’s future was the center of speculation throughout 2024 prior to the summer break, with the Spaniard set to be replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari and not receiving firm offers from Mercedes or Red Bull. While he was heavily linked with the Audi project early on, and had serious interest from Alpine, in the end it was Williams that secured his signature on a multi-year contract.

“I think it’s a huge, huge event for Williams to have two of the best drivers of the world fighting at the front,” team principal Vowles said. “I think it’s very much a sign of things to come the fact that we are prepared to have the investment required to be there. And a lot of it you can’t see; the one you can materially see is what we’re doing by effectively putting money where it should be into the best drivers that are available to us. In terms of beating an OEM, and one of the largest in the world, I am incredibly proud. I said this to Carlos anyway — it’s one of the proudest moments of my career and I’ve had lots of great moments in my career. The fact that he chose us above all else is a huge, huge, monumental decision.”

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Vowles says it’s not just the relative struggles of the other teams that played a role in Sainz’s decision, but the longer-term picture of what Williams is building and where it is likely to be in the future.

“We have to be straightforward — Alpine are ahead of us on points this year, they were ahead of us on points last year as well. I recognize all of that,” Vowles said. “What he’s buying into is what can we provide over the next two years and what’s the direction of travel?

“Look at us this year — we’re back in ninth. Is that where we should be? Not if the car was on the weight limit, but that’s on our shoulders. No one else caused that but ourselves as we changed technologies.

“However, the bit that I am excited by is we are pretty consistently 10th from ’21, ’22, and in ’23, do I think we should have been seventh? I think we got fortunate because AlphaTauri were very quick towards the end and it was a matter of a strategic decision that really decided whether we were eighth or seventh, and we had huge tumbles of points but at very few events.

“What I want to produce is a car that is good everywhere with the right foundations behind it, and as I’ve said that will cost us in the short term but pay back in the long term — that’s the direction of travel we’re in.

“It’s monumental to beat these two organizations, because they are both incredible organizations in their own right. We can’t underestimate them. The moment we do is the moment you lose to them in the championship. But what Carlos recognized from us — and much of it you won’t see, and will never see, I’m afraid, but I did expose it to him — is what we’re changing on the inside, and that’s what’s exciting.”

Williams ‘continually evaluating’ replacing Sargeant mid-season

Williams is “continually evaluating” the possibility of replacing Logan Sargeant during this season, team principal James Vowles admits. Sargeant has been under pressure at Williams for the majority of his 18 months with the team so far, due to a …

Williams is “continually evaluating” the possibility of replacing Logan Sargeant during this season, team principal James Vowles admits.

Sargeant has been under pressure at Williams for the majority of his 18 months with the team so far, due to a number of expensive crashes last season and a lack of results compared to teammate Alex Albon. While there have been standout moments such as a pair of Q3 appearances last year and a stronger showing at Silverstone last weekend where he finished 11th, Sargeant’s failed to score a point so far in 2024 and Vowles says Williams is open to a mid-season change of driver.

“We’re continually evaluating it,” Vowles said. “What we’ve said to Logan is it’s a meritocracy. You have to make sure you earn your place in the sport continuously. That’s been the same message that has been for 18 months really for him. And we are open-minded to things.

“What I’ve said before and I’ve maintained today, is that our car — and this is a responsibility on my shoulders and the team — isn’t quick enough. It’s not a driver issue we suffer from today. We’ve simply been out-developed and we have to make sure we accelerate that process.”

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With Sargeant almost certain to lose his seat next year, Carlos Sainz has been the main target for Williams when it comes to its 2025 lineup but Vowles says any movement on that front is now more likely to come during the summer break.

“I’ll go back to, he’s a world class driver,” he said of Sainz. “So the decision isn’t imminent. It’s not today that we need to make it. But what I’ve said all along is actually the timeline is less important to me. What’s more important is that whatever decision we come to or the driver comes to, it’s about forging a long-term relationship with each other — i.e. both see the journey we’re on and want that to be a part of their lives.

“I’m fairly sure you’ll see all this cleared up before we get to September. That’s the normal time. If you look at a normal routine, we’re actually just now going back into what is a normal schedule where August is spent doing contracts. But I’m pretty sure you’ll find it all cemented by then.”

Vowles says there are more options available to Williams beyond Sainz for next season, with multiple plans in place depending on how the driver market evolves.

“Fundamentally, yes [there’s a plan B],” he said. “Simple answer to it … I think we’re on about Y or Z by now, just to be clear. But no, there’s a lot of moving parts to it. More than the world will see, but it will all make sense, I think, once it fans out.”

‘Tremendous force of nature’ Sainz tops Williams shortlist

Williams team principal James Vowles describes Carlos Sainz as “a tremendous force of nature” as the Spaniard has emerged as a serious option to replace Logan Sargeant. Sainz will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari at the end of this season …

Williams team principal James Vowles describes Carlos Sainz as “a tremendous force of nature” as the Spaniard has emerged as a serious option to replace Logan Sargeant.

Sainz will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari at the end of this season and has yet to commit to a new team, with Audi understood to have made him an offer. While Vowles insists no decision has been made on Sargeant’s future so far, RACER understands the Sainz camp holds significant interest in the Williams project — in part due to the expected strength of the Mercedes power unit — and Vowles views him as one of the best drivers on the grid.

“We have talks with drivers, but it’s important to treat those confidentially,” Vowles told RACER. “I think Carlos is tremendous — he’s an incredible driver. He has won races where others could not, simple as that.

“For years — and I don’t mean months, for years — I think he has been absolutely right up there. If you go all the way back to the Toro Rosso days, he was matching Max [Verstappen]. Go back to McLaren, he’s matching Lando [Norris], there is every reason to believe that he’s a tremendous force of nature, and it would be foolish of any teams not to have him on the agenda.

“And certainly, from our perspective, while I don’t want to confirm who we are talking to, and what we’re talking to, I could certainly say that teams would be foolish not to have him as part of your lineup.”

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Williams have also been linked with the likes of Valtteri Bottas and Andrea Kimi Antonelli if it replaces Sargeant, but RACER understands Sainz is the primary target and Vowles admits his experience would be significant in trying to help the team compete near the front in 2026.

“First of all, my philosophy, generally speaking, is investing in youth. Because I myself was a graduate 30 years ago, and I’ve seen some extraordinary talent come through that way,” he said.

“We have to balance that against where are we in the phase that is Williams today, and what strength do we need as a result of it? And it’s a continual balance that not just myself, other teams are going through as well at the same time.

“Where I think we are, is that having expertise in the car for the next few years alongside Alex [Albon] is going to be a huge strength. Simple as that. That doesn’t mean I’m not open-minded to younger drivers. It just means that as we are today, I think this team is going through a transformation, and when you’re going through that, stability, and individuals that know what excellence looks like, is a huge strength. Alex is clearly one of those, and a second, I think would be a boon.”

With Mercedes likely to promote Antonelli if it can’t attract Verstappen, and with McLaren’s lineup finalized, Williams could have one of the most competitive seats on the grid available in 2026 based on a growing confidence in the next generation of Mercedes power unit. While that makes it attractive to multiple drivers, Vowles also says there have been signs of performance from Sargeant that show it was right to give the Floridian a chance to retain his drive, after Sargeant stated he is “extremely” close to being at the level required.

“I think every weekend, you can see some brilliance from him,” Vowles said of Sargeant. “Imola, the race performance was strong. It was where it needs to be. The converse, though, in qualifying, I needed more from him. You’ve got to make sure that you’re within the track limits, fundamentally. But the pace was there, it was a better position from that perspective.

“So I do agree with him. It’s why I invested in him last year and why I invested in him this year as well. There is a very strong driver in Logan. And what’s more — you’ll know him well enough — there’s no ego that goes with it. It’s just an individual that wants to push the absolute limits.

“He believes in Williams, he believes in us and believes in the strength of the organization. Those are all great things. But is he performant? Yes. Does it have to come together as a complete package? Yes, as well.”

Sargeant seat under threat but future ‘within his hands’ – Vowles

Williams team principal James Vowles has confirmed Logan Sargeant’s future with the team is “at risk” and he has to improve his performances, but insists the door isn’t closed on him retaining his seat. Sargeant is out of contract at the end of the …

Sargeant is out of contract at the end of the season and has struggled to consistently be close to teammate Alex Albon since making his debut for Williams last year, with a best finish this season of 14th. Multiple crashes since the start of 2023 have also increased the pressure on the Floridian, and with Albon committing to a new long-term contract, the focus has been on the likes of Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Valtteri Bottas as potential replacements for Sargeant in the future, with Vowles admitting a change could be on the cards.

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“We’ve had a direct conversation, which is a very hard conversation when you do it,” Vowles told Sky Sports. “But the simple matter of facts are, what I’ve already explained, is that he is at risk. That’s the simple matter of fact behind it.

“He has to perform above where he is. It’s a meritocracy. I’m helping him on that journey. I want him to be successful. But in the meantime, we are talking to a few other drivers because we have to to get our ’25, ’26, ’27 line-up correct.

“We’ll come to you when it’s ready to… I would say a few weeks you will see some potential news in that area.”

However, Vowles clarified he is not currently considering a change of driver line-up during this season, despite asking the FIA if it would permit Mercedes junior Antonelli – who has the required Super License points – to race before he turns 18 at the end of August.

“What I’m talking about is ’25, ’26 drivers, nothing about this season. What I’m talking about is how do we create the right foundations going forward on things. And in a few weeks won’t be signing, it will be me ready to say to the world ‘this is where we are’. And part of it is out of respect to Logan, I’ve given him an opportunity and these are where he has to step up towards things.”

Sargeant was running an older-specification of floor at Imola as only Albon received the lighter upgrade, and despite the clear doubt over the American’s future, Vowles says the driver still has the opportunity to retain his seat longer-term.

“Definitely. I explained to him the controls are within his hands and there is absolutely things he can be doing in order to create an environment for him where he continues within Formula 1. It’s not the decision’s done. It’s not the door shut.

“That’s the whole point. I believe in having a human conversation and a human conversation is ‘This is where you are, this is where you need to be, and I’ll work with you as much as possible but you’re in control of that destiny, not myself’.

“That’s how I am fundamentally, it’s how I’ve been through my career and whether it was a driver or an engineer or someone within the organization, I feel it’s respectful if nothing more to lay out what has to be achieved.”

Blame for Williams chassis issue is on me – Vowles

Williams team principal James Vowles says he has to take the blame for the lack of a spare chassis that left the team with just one car racing in the Australian Grand Prix. Alex Albon’s crash in FP1 damaged his chassis, and with Williams still yet …

Williams team principal James Vowles says he has to take the blame for the lack of a spare chassis that left the team with just one car racing in the Australian Grand Prix.

Alex Albon’s crash in FP1 damaged his chassis, and with Williams still yet to have manufactured a spare, it was left to the team to decide which of the two drivers would get to compete in the rest of the race weekend. Vowles opted to withdraw Logan Sargeant, leaving Albon to take over his teammate’s car and finish 11th in the race. But after describing the situation as “unacceptable,” Vowles says he takes responsibility.

“It lies on me, there’s nowhere else it should ever stop,” Vowles told Speed City Broadcasting. “We’ve changed so much technology within the factory — we’ve changed how we design and produce the chassis, we’ve changed how we do things aerodynamically, we’ve changed how we add performance, how we do upgrades…

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“We’ve added process; we’ve added at the same time we’re going to do three cars — not one car — and you would imagine that stretches an organization to the limit.

“In the beginning of the year we were very open and honest — we were so late on the car because we changed so much, and one of the outcomes of that is we couldn’t make an additional chassis. You can’t move forward unless you are prepared to take some massive risks, and we did. But the outcome of it is you play with fire, and that caught us out.”

Shortly after Albon’s crash, Vowles couldn’t guarantee the damaged chassis would be repaired for the following race in Japan, but now believes the required work should be completed in plenty of time.

“I’m confident that we’ll be able to fix the chassis,” he said. “We put measures in place to ensure the chassis was back here very early on Monday morning — I think arrived around 2am or so — and since then there was already crews inside the building working on that, stripping it down and doing repairs.

“We’re in a good place for having the chassis back early enough for Suzuka. A lot of the work’s done actually back in Melbourne; there were photographs and techniques called NDT — non-destructive testing — there’s various ones you can do there, but it allows us to fully understand how big the damage is and what we have to do.

“And that preparation is key. What it meant was already at 2am on Monday, work could start. It wasn’t then a reflection on what was happening, it was more, ‘This is what we’re doing and this is how we execute it.’ So in Suzuka we’ll have two cars without too many issues.”

Williams situation ‘unacceptable in modern day Formula 1’ – Vowles

Williams team principal James Vowles says the situation that led to Alex Albon taking over Logan Sargeant’s car at the Australian Grand Prix is “unacceptable in modern day Formula 1,” but also a symptom of the circumstances the team is currently …

Albon crashed heavily in FP1 and sustained damage to his chassis that could not be repaired ahead of Saturday, but Williams does not have a spare and so has been left with one car for the rest of the race weekend. As a result, it has decided to withdraw Sargeant from the event so that Albon can take over his teammate’s car, and Vowles says the team should not have left itself in such a position.

“We are hugely disappointed that the damage sustained to the chassis has meant we need to withdraw it from the weekend,” Vowles said. “It’s unacceptable in modern day Formula 1 not to have a spare chassis, but it is a reflection of how behind we were in the winter period and an illustration of why we need to go through significant change in order to get ourselves in a better position for the future. As a result, we have had some very difficult decisions to make this afternoon.

“While Logan should not have to suffer from a mistake that he did not make, every race counts when the midfield is tighter than ever, so we have made the call based on our best potential to score points this weekend.

“This decision was not made lightly, and we cannot thank Logan enough for his graceful acceptance, demonstrating his dedication to the team; he is a true team player. This will prove a tough weekend for Williams, and this situation is not one that we will put ourselves in again.”

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Albon scored 27 points for Williams last season as it finished seventh in the constructors’ championship, with Sargeant scoring one 10th place in his rookie year. Melbourne also saw an impressive qualifying performance from Albon last year as he lined up eighth on the grid, although a crash — at the same corner as Friday’s incident — when running sixth cost him a chance of significant points.

The damaged chassis will now be returned to Williams’ headquarters in Grove, UK, for repairs ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka in two weeks’ time.

Vowles says Williams is reaping rewards from structural changes

Williams’ investment in personnel and restructuring is starting to pay off behind the scenes as well as on the track, according to team principal James Vowles. The former Mercedes motorsport strategy director has just completed his first season in …

Williams’ investment in personnel and restructuring is starting to pay off behind the scenes as well as on the track, according to team principal James Vowles.

The former Mercedes motorsport strategy director has just completed his first season in the role with Williams and led the team to seventh place in the constructors’ championship. While car performance was strong at certain venues, Vowles says it was the arrival of the likes of Pat Fry as chief technical officer that has strengthened the team’s overall position and is leading to progress outside of race results.

“It’s never about one individual,” Vowles said. “I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by a number of skilled leaders — technicians, engineers, mechanics, marketing — who all have the same passion and are drawn to the same things I am, which is to bring this team back towards the front. And who will give me every minute of every day in order for us to get there.

“The leadership team that we now have in place are really strong, and we are starting to see dividends from that. But that’s also all the way through the organization we’re seeing that and it takes time for a lot of those elements to move in the way we want to.

“We’ve been misaligned, perhaps, for a number of years and that direction is starting to change; but it’s not about me, it’s about the team.”

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After holding off AlphaTauri at the final round in Abu Dhabi, Vowles admits he was not counting on a fight for seventh in the constructors’ championship while focusing on restructuring Williams.

“We also have to be realistic: AlphaTauri were very quick — as they have been towards the end of the season — and they were able to get themselves conclusively into the top 10 with [Yuki] Tsunoda. We did our utmost in the race but actually our car got quicker and quicker as the race went on — which we believe we understand and is no different to the problems we’ve had all year long — but that first stint really hurt us in terms of where we could fight for in the race itself.

“At the end of the day it was a two-stop for everyone and in the case of AlphaTauri they fell back trying that one-stop, and were very quick at certain points. There were moments where an ill-timed safety car for us would have completely changed what that championship looked like.

“Seventh would have exceeded all expectations at the beginning of the year, and I would say even up to midway through the year. I’m very proud of what we have achieved and absolutely, seventh exceeds expectations. Not met, but exceeds.”

Williams sets targets for Sargeant to secure 2024 seat

Williams has set Logan Sargeant a number of “very clear targets” to hit in order to secure a seat for 2024, says team principal James Vowles. Sargeant has had a number of high-profile crashes since the summer break that Williams says has been …

Williams has set Logan Sargeant a number of “very clear targets” to hit in order to secure a seat for 2024, says team principal James Vowles.

Sargeant has had a number of high-profile crashes since the summer break that Williams says has been overshadowing progress that the rookie has made this season. Yet to score a point, Sargeant’s future is still unconfirmed for 2024 but Vowles insists the team wants the Floridian in its car next season as long as he delivers on the goals he has been set.

“Logan has very clear targets of what he has to hit before the end of the season, and we are working with him continuously,” Vowles said. “And that’s the important point — we are working with him. We want him to succeed, and we want him in the car next year.

“This is very much on us as well. We have taken someone straight from Formula 2, without any significant testing, put him a day and half in Bahrain in this car, and then wished them well on a season that has been awfully challenging for rookies.”

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Vowles says there was an appreciable rise in Sargeant’s performance at Suzuka relative to teammate Alex Albon before the American’s crash in qualifying, and that Williams is a long way from running out of patience with the 22-year-old.

“There were some very positive signs to take out (from Japan),” Vowles said. “First and foremost, Logan is not on the same aerodynamic specific as Alex was. We have updates that are on Alex’s car that are not on Logan’s, due to the amount of attrition we have had this year.

“So, often when you see a performance offset it is not quite what it may seem on the timing pages. Further to that, if you look at the case of Suzuka, he did a build-up across the weekend — as he went into FP3, he did a time that matched Alex. And as we go into qualifying, until the accident he was overlaying, line-on-line, within a tenth of Alex’s performance at one of the trickiest circuits of the season.

“So, the progress is there in certain forms but very clearly being marred by a number of other issues and accidents have appeared as well. We will continue to work with Logan, and invest in Logan, as we want him to succeed as a result of the journey he is on.

“He is on a journey with us as Williams; we have a young driver program that we will continue to invest in. Only at the point where all of us come to the conclusion that we have reached the end of that road will we make any decisions, but we are nowhere near that yet.”

Williams team principal James Vowles lobbying for more money to upgrade facilities

F1’s cost cap is designed to even the playing field, but Vowles argues that the deck is stacked against lower-end teams due to their inferior facilities.

Formula 1 instituted a cost cap in 2021 to help bring teams closer together in competitiveness. Despite that, Williams team principal [autotag]James Vowles[/autotag] maintains that there still remains an element of financials that is keeping teams from drawing too close — the facilities that are already there.

Vowles spoke to RacingNews365 on Monday about his desire to increase spending on Capital Expenditure for lower-end teams such as Williams, maintaining that it’s hard for them to abide by the cap and get better when the infrastructure and facilities that teams like Mercedes and Red Bull use are already superior after being built up before the cost cap.

Vowles said that lower-end teams like his have been trying to hold votes to get more money to upgrade their facilities, but that top-end contenders are trying to prevent that from happening.

“It’ll be no surprise that everyone at the back of the grid near enough all unanimously had their hands up for most of these votes and the ones at the front and the grid did not,” Vowles told Racing365.

Vowles said he tried to stress to these teams that making the grid more competitive will be good for the sport as a whole.

“This is about for the greater good of the sport and I really do believe this. I appreciate I have more to gain than others,” Vowles said. “But you need it to be that on any given Sunday, you don’t know who’s going to particularly win. Certainly, that dominance doesn’t exist the way it does at the moment.”

Williams currently sits at seventh in the World Constructors Championship with 11 points. Vowles said he understands he has the most to gain from such votes, but that he hopes a resolution to the problem can come sooner than later.

“What I’m hoping out of all of this is it’s undoubtedly agreed in that room Williams — amongst all the peers — is the one with the least amount of facilities and that means rectifying,” Vowles said. “We’ll have another go at fixing that and seeing if we get other people’s mindsets to modify.”

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