2025 Williams Racing F1 Team

[Jurgen von Diaz]

Firstly, Vowles said that he wouldn't pick Newey, now saying same thing about Verstappen. Thinks he has the best drivers on the grid. What kind of medication is this guy on?

https://x.com/SKPitStop/status/19133367 ... JQNaA&s=19

[JPower]

Firstly, Vowles said that he wouldn't pick Newey, now saying same thing about Verstappen. Thinks he has the best drivers on the grid. What kind of medication is this guy on?

https://x.com/SKPitStop/status/19133367 ... JQNaA&s=19

He knows Mercedes better than anyone outside of Toto. I think he's qualified to give his opinion on how Verstappen and Co. would fit in the org.

Newey, Verstappen, etc. all bring demands and pressures others might not. Perfectly reasonable to consider how the upside and downsides would effect the teams he's been at and or currently managing.

[Jurgen von Diaz]

Firstly, Vowles said that he wouldn't pick Newey, now saying same thing about Verstappen. Thinks he has the best drivers on the grid. What kind of medication is this guy on?

https://x.com/SKPitStop/status/19133367 ... JQNaA&s=19

He knows Mercedes better than anyone outside of Toto. I think he's qualified to give his opinion on how Verstappen and Co. would fit in the org.

Newey, Verstappen, etc. all bring demands and pressures others might not. Perfectly reasonable to consider how the upside and downsides would effect the teams he's been at and or currently managing.

A guy who thinks he has the best drivers and would not pick Newey (as if Newey would ever even consider Williams) qualifies as much as Ralf Schumacher's opinion.

[JPower]

Firstly, Vowles said that he wouldn't pick Newey, now saying same thing about Verstappen. Thinks he has the best drivers on the grid. What kind of medication is this guy on?

https://x.com/SKPitStop/status/19133367 ... JQNaA&s=19

He knows Mercedes better than anyone outside of Toto. I think he's qualified to give his opinion on how Verstappen and Co. would fit in the org.

Newey, Verstappen, etc. all bring demands and pressures others might not. Perfectly reasonable to consider how the upside and downsides would effect the teams he's been at and or currently managing.

A guy who thinks he has the best drivers and would not pick Newey (as if Newey would ever even consider Williams) qualifies as much as Ralf Schumacher's opinion.

You do realize he's doing that to motivate the drivers and advertise the team's resurgence right? I hope you aren't taking that literally.

As for Newey, you just said he wouldn't want to go to WIlliams proving the point. Wouldn't be a good fit.

Again, I trust Vowles opinion after 20 years with the team in various iterations over almost anyone else.

[Jurgen von Diaz]

He knows Mercedes better than anyone outside of Toto. I think he's qualified to give his opinion on how Verstappen and Co. would fit in the org.

Newey, Verstappen, etc. all bring demands and pressures others might not. Perfectly reasonable to consider how the upside and downsides would effect the teams he's been at and or currently managing.

A guy who thinks he has the best drivers and would not pick Newey (as if Newey would ever even consider Williams) qualifies as much as Ralf Schumacher's opinion.

You do realize he's doing that to motivate the drivers and advertise the team's resurgence right? I hope you aren't taking that literally.

As for Newey, you just said he wouldn't want to go to WIlliams proving the point. Wouldn't be a good fit.

Again, I trust Vowles opinion after 20 years with the team in various iterations over almost anyone else.

Vowles knows he hasn't afford the best designer and driver, so he tells he doesn't "want" them because he already have "the best drivers" and even says it's not about the money. Yeah right. Typical inferiority complex.

[JPower]

Vowles knows he hasn't afford the best designer and driver, so he tells he doesn't "want" them because he already have "the best drivers" and even says it's not about the money. Yeah right. Typical inferiority complex.

He's not in the Mercedes team, so wanting Verstappen for Williams has nothing to do it. He was asked about Verstappen's fit at Mercedes.

[JPower]

Nonsense above aside, great qualifying session for Sainz finishing in P6.

Albon probably should've been in Q3 as well but the gamble didn't pay off.

[search]

Albon probably should've been in Q3 as well but the gamble didn't pay off.

I don't think they gambled, Albon probably just preferred to go out earlier and get a clean lap. That was the last set of softs he had for Q2.

[Moctecus]

Firstly, Vowles said that he wouldn't pick Newey, now saying same thing about Verstappen. Thinks he has the best drivers on the grid. What kind of medication is this guy on?

https://x.com/SKPitStop/status/19133367 ... JQNaA&s=19

He knows Mercedes better than anyone outside of Toto. I think he's qualified to give his opinion on how Verstappen and Co. would fit in the org.

Newey, Verstappen, etc. all bring demands and pressures others might not. Perfectly reasonable to consider how the upside and downsides would effect the teams he's been at and or currently managing.

A guy who thinks he has the best drivers and would not pick Newey (as if Newey would ever even consider Williams) qualifies as much as Ralf Schumacher's opinion.

You have to be careful with Vowles' statements and look at the wording and context, because they often aren't what they appear to be. Vowles also knows how to play the media to generate some PR or to further a political cause.
Here's what he actually said on his line-up:

I think from the perspective of not just driving the car, but leading the team forward, we’ll have the best line-up on the grid.

That's a very different statement than "we have the best drivers". In the interview, Vowles is basically saying he has two drivers who are not just some of the fastest inside the car, but who can also drive the whole team forward with what they do (and don't do) outside the car. "A combination that is not necessarily available up and down the grid", he says. That is a lot more subjective than claiming Albon and Sainz are the two best drivers on the grid, which he isn't doing. He's mainly just sharing his enthusiasm over having two very good drivers who strongly believe in the Williams project. You can read his full explanation here.

As for Newey, here's what Vowles said on why Williams dropped out of the race (and bidding war) to sign him:

I want people who believe in our project. Williams wasn't ready for someone like Adrian. We still have so much development work to do before we can offer someone of his calibre the right environment. He would have overstretched our team and that could have had the opposite effect. He would have ended up frustrated. Also, I don't want to build an infrastructure that depends on one person. Williams is not centred around me, a driver or an engineer. It will be a team of 1,000 people working together. That is important. It gives you a short-term loss for a long-term gain.
Source: AMuS

He makes a perfectly logical argument, as usual, although we don't know how far their discussions actually went.
Vowles made a public pitch for Newey to return to Williams and confirmed an informal talk early on, but that doesn't mean they ever seriously tried to sign him.
It would have become obvious fairly quickly that Newey isn't a good fit for Williams in their current state and vice versa. I guess a less involved consultancy-type role and/or becoming a shareholder could have made sense, had this been what Adrian was after. Either way, being discussed as a possible destination for someone like Adrian Newey is, of course, a good and free way to generate some hype around and inside the Williams project. And there's no harm in at least talking to him, as every F1 team will have done.

[Xyz22]

Don Carlos didn't look that quick in Jeddah in the previous years because he was against Leclerc, the fastest driver in this track.
Huge performance today. He needs to do his own race tomorrow.

[Jurgen von Diaz]

He knows Mercedes better than anyone outside of Toto. I think he's qualified to give his opinion on how Verstappen and Co. would fit in the org.

Newey, Verstappen, etc. all bring demands and pressures others might not. Perfectly reasonable to consider how the upside and downsides would effect the teams he's been at and or currently managing.

A guy who thinks he has the best drivers and would not pick Newey (as if Newey would ever even consider Williams) qualifies as much as Ralf Schumacher's opinion.

You have to be careful with Vowles' statements and look at the wording and context, because they often aren't what they appear to be. Vowles also knows how to play the media to generate some PR or to further a political cause.
Here's what he actually said on his line-up:

I think from the perspective of not just driving the car, but leading the team forward, we’ll have the best line-up on the grid.

That's a very different statement than "we have the best drivers". In the interview, Vowles is basically saying he has two drivers who are not just some of the fastest inside the car, but who can also drive the whole team forward with what they do (and don't do) outside the car. "A combination that is not necessarily available up and down the grid", he says. That is a lot more subjective than claiming Albon and Sainz are the two best drivers on the grid, which he isn't doing. He's mainly just sharing his enthusiasm over having two very good drivers who strongly believe in the Williams project. You can read his full explanation here.

As for Newey, here's what Vowles said on why Williams dropped out of the race (and bidding war) to sign him:

I want people who believe in our project. Williams wasn't ready for someone like Adrian. We still have so much development work to do before we can offer someone of his calibre the right environment. He would have overstretched our team and that could have had the opposite effect. He would have ended up frustrated. Also, I don't want to build an infrastructure that depends on one person. Williams is not centred around me, a driver or an engineer. It will be a team of 1,000 people working together. That is important. It gives you a short-term loss for a long-term gain.
Source: AMuS

He makes a perfectly logical argument, as usual, although we don't know how far their discussions actually went.
Vowles made a public pitch for Newey to return to Williams and confirmed an informal talk early on, but that doesn't mean they ever seriously tried to sign him.
It would have become obvious fairly quickly that Newey isn't a good fit for Williams in their current state and vice versa. I guess a less involved consultancy-type role and/or becoming a shareholder could have made sense, had this been what Adrian was after. Either way, being discussed as a possible destination for someone like Adrian Newey is, of course, a good and free way to generate some hype around and inside the Williams project. And there's no harm in at least talking to him, as every F1 team will have done.

The point is that Vowles is acting like the team principal of a top team. It is unnecessary to say that he does not want the best designer because that opinion would never be on the table. And we all know Albon–Sainz are not the best drivers to "take the team forward" or what ornate sentences you want to use. They are not even top drivers, both were once sacked. There are still Norris–Piastri, Russell–Antonelli, and Leclerc–Hamilton pairings who are ahead. Briatore could also say he has the best drivers, but it would sound like Ralf Schumacher with his goofy statements.

[f1isgood]

This is more the Sainz I was expecting. Was surprised Alex had such a margin initially.

[JPower]

This is more the Sainz I was expecting. Was surprised Alex had such a margin initially.

Albon has been with Williams for 3+ years now. He's one of the only constants in the car's development since they moved to the new regs so I'm not too surprised.

I thought Sainz would hit the ground running after the positive results of post-season test but after Australia practice, it seemed like he was starting from zero. Albon is likely still a bit quicker in most situations just due to Sainz's lack of experience but I look for any gap to shrink as the season progresses.

[Mansell89]

Nicely done from the Williams boys today and some decent points to the tally.

A solid baseline car but not sure if anyone saw Sainz interview yesterday on Sky after quali - he said they have already switched all development to 2026 because they have the base car to fight for points for most of the season.

The right move for the Williams long term for sure so good luck to them and il be interested to see whether they can ruffle any feathers next season.

[JPower]

Good result. Good to see Sainz finally have a clean race. Albon did well to hang on to 9th as well.

It seems the car operates very well on the smooth, fast street tracks so far and is more limited at the traditional ones. Still has some traditional Williams DNA.

Given that, Miami should be another good opportunity for double points.