A Reinvigorated Williams Climbs Into Fifth Place in Formula 1
'We put work into this, but what you see today is just the result of getting a thousand people pointing in the right way, with some basic foundations in place,' James Vowles, the team principal, said in an interview in May. 'I'm happy with the progress we're showing, as it shows the direction for the future.'
The team, which finished last four times from 2018 to 2022, went through a long period of financial strife, fears of collapse and a major change in ownership from the founding Williams family to a New York-based investment firm.
With the ownership of the firm, Dorilton Capital, which bought Williams in 2020, and the stewardship of Vowles, whose contract was renewed last month, a fallen giant is beginning to reawaken.
It has 55 points this year, already more than it amassed from 2022 to 2024.
'If you had asked me a year ago, when I signed the contract, that in some qualifyings we would be only three-tenths off pole and beating a Ferrari or Red Bull or Mercedes, I would have definitely signed the contract even earlier and even happier,' said Carlos Sainz, who moved over from Ferrari after it signed Lewis Hamilton for this year. 'The team is on a very strong trajectory.'
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