Williams Team Principal James Vowles sees “a world of difference” between the FW47 and its 2024 Formula 1 predecessor.
In 2024, Williams arrived with an overweight car after shifting design concepts and undergoing a drastic overhaul of its production processes which meant it rushed at the 11th hour to bring its car to pre-season testing.
Several months were spent getting the FW46 back to the weight limit before performance upgrades could be made, with the one true performance package coming at Round 15, the Dutch Grand Prix.
However, while speaking to select media including Motorsport Week at Williams’ 2025 season launch of the FW47 at Silverstone, Vowels revealed a lot of progress has been made with the new car.
“So, first of all, weight, the car will be on the weight limit,” he said.
“Second of all, on time, as I said, we demonstrated to the world that we can build a car to the correct standard and make it leave the garage within one minute, so that’s two very different changes from where we were last year,” Vowels added, reflecting on the team’s live broadcast of Carlos Sainz’s initial installation laps of Silverstone on Friday.
Moreover, Vowels revealed the extent to which Williams made sure the FW47 was ready for its launch.
“That car was built last night at 4am,” he said.
“All the components came together, and we sent that car out just a few hours after that.
“That’s leading edge that most organisations wouldn’t let you into their world to show, but it’s a demonstration of where we come from and that we mean business and where we’re going to.
Speaking further of the progress made from 2024’s FW46 to the new FW47, Vowels said: “The quality of the fit, the quality of the build, the quality of the product is a huge step upwards, and the packaging is another huge step upwards, and we haven’t even got into aerodynamics and suspension and performance yet.
“Every area I look at in the car is just a world of difference for me from where we were before,” he added.
“We’re not finished on our journey, and I’m not here standing on our soapbox saying that we’re benchmark, but we’re on the right pathway to getting back there.”
Vowels ‘confident’ in Williams’ progress
Vowles has made no secret that his vision at Williams is long-term, making changes at the foundations to guarantee future success as well as getting a jump start on the new regulations in 2026.
It’s a daunting task reviving an F1 sleeping giant, but Vowles is confident in the progress that is being made.
“[At] the organisation we’ve been spending the last few years, and carrying on in 2025, just digging down to foundations and making a lot of changes,” he said.
“Just putting some stats around it, we’ve grown from about 700 to over 1,050, and we still have more hires incoming.
“We have some excellent names that have joined us that are by my side now that we didn’t have before.
“We have, I think, class-leading drivers that are leaders that are able to help and support me in this journey.
“That will always give you confidence because you don’t feel as though you are a single point of failure anymore, but rather you have an organisation and a structure around you that has the depth necessary to perform on a world stage.”
Vowels is adamant that this will yield results in the years to come, but he wasn’t ruling out a positive step in 2025 earlier.
Speaking during Williams’ live broadcast on Friday morning, he said “The main thing is this: You’re going to see us progress forward.
“But what I’ve always said is we’ve put our focus into ‘26, ‘27 and ‘28. We’re developing elements that come online as a result of that. We have this year huge
infrastructure changes that come online.
“To do that, it’ll take a little bit more time. But that’s the investment we’re doing. But as I said, watch our pathway. It should be a good one this year.”
READ MORE – Williams kickstarts 2025 F1 campaign with FW47 launch
