James Vowles reveals when he expects Williams to be fighting for race wins with Carlos Sainz deal ‘one step of about a thousand’

Williams team boss James Vowles has highlighted the 2028 season as a realistic target when it comes to the team fighting at the front of the field and challenging for Grand Prix victories.

Vowles joined Williams in early 2023 with the task of getting their F1 programme back on track and eventually adding another chapter of success to the team’s glory years of the 1980s and 1990s – which yielded nine constructors’ championships and seven drivers’ titles.

After overseeing a rise from the bottom of the standings to seventh position last year, Williams hold ninth in this season’s constructors’ championship – having scored six points from 16 of 24 scheduled rounds.

Speaking just after the summer break, Vowles was asked about the timeframe he is working towards regarding race wins, and comments from Alex Albon that this could be possible by 2027.

“Crikey, I didn’t realise he said that,” Vowles initially laughed in response, before sharing some more insight into the changes taking place behind the scenes at Williams.

Vowles took over as Williams team boss ahead of the 2023 season

“I think if you ask me to commit to a date, I would have said more ’28, but I think the point is we should be on the right journey to get towards there as well.

“There’s quite a bit of investment, senior management and other elements, that are kicking in for ’26 and ’27. It takes time in F1. We can shortcut some bits and I’m sure we can have some faster performance [coming] to the table, but you won’t have the foundations in place, and it will collapse at some point.

“Getting it right is the real key behind being successful in F1, not for one year but for many, many years in front. [So], ’28 I’d be a lot more confident about looking you in the eyes and saying, ‘Yes’.”

Vowles’s efforts to get the squad back to winning ways were recently boosted by the signing of outgoing Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who put his faith in Williams’s plans amid interest from several teams.

But when asked about how much he has been celebrating that deal, the Briton described it as “one step of about a thousand” that need to take place before Williams achieve their goals.

James Vowles 'over the moon' at signing Sainz for 2025

“When it was signed, I was over the moon, and he [Sainz] knows I was over the moon,” Vowles said of signing the three-time Grand Prix winner.

“When I told the factory, which was effectively there and then, I enjoyed the moment. Moments like this, they don’t come many times in your career, where you’ve made a pivotal decision that will completely change the direction and course of an organisation.

“It was within our management committee, they asked, ‘Right, what are we doing to celebrate?’, and I said, ‘We’re not celebrating’. This is just one step of about a thousand that we need to achieve along our journey to be successful.

“I’ll celebrate when you come to me and say, ‘Congratulations, Williams is a strong competitor fighting for wins and fighting for championships’. As horrible as that sounds, that’s what it takes to get me to a point where I believe we’ve been successful.

“Carlos is a huge asset, he’s a brilliant driver, but he’s a step along the way for this team moving back towards the front.”