One point ‘not a fair reflection’ of Williams’ potential in 2023 says team boss Vowles

James Vowles has taken a moment to reflect on his first three races as Williams Team Principal, saying he feels “encouraged” by what he has seen and arguing that the outfit deserve more than what they have achieved so far.

Williams sit at the foot of the F1 constructors’ standings after the initial flyaway trips to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia, with Alex Albon’s P10 finish at the season opener marking the sole point scored up to now.

READ MORE: Playing the long game – How new boss James Vowles is plotting Williams’ return to form

However, were it not for Albon’s race-ending crash from a high-flying sixth position at Albert Park, which followed an impressive Q3 appearance in qualifying, Williams’ total could have been much higher.

Taking stock of the situation in a video for the official Williams F1 website, Vowles said: “We’re three rounds through this 23-race season and encouraging, I think, is the primary word that comes to mind.

“We’ve been there or thereabouts and [with] the ability to fight for points at every single one of those rounds so far, and that will continue as we go forward [to] the next few races. We have Baku coming up, and again, I think [it’s] a track that should suit the capability of our car.

“Whilst we sit here 10th in the championship with just a point to our name, it’s not a fair reflection of the work that’s gone into this car so far this year, and the performance that the car can certainly have track on track.”

With a month-long break soon coming to a close, Vowles is bracing himself for a busy next phase of the season, which kicks off via a back-to-back sequence in Azerbaijan and Miami – the races coming thick and fast until the summer shutdown.

READ MORE: Frank Williams Academy launched in memory of legendary F1 team boss

“From here onwards, really, once we go into Azerbaijan, it’s just going to be this rollercoaster of race after race,” the former Mercedes strategy chief went on to comment.

“We just need to make sure we learn everything from the previous races, reset, and go on and do the best we can at the next [race weekend].”

Albon’s point leaves him 18th in the drivers’ standings after the opening three events, with rookie team mate Logan Sargeant sitting 19th as one of two drivers – alongside AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries – yet to get off the mark.