Vowles says Williams on the brink of 'big name' signings amid rebuilding process

Williams boss James Vowles has said that the team are in the process of signing some “big names” across their technical organisation who he is confident will contribute towards the success of the squad going forwards.

Since joining the Grove-based outfit as Team Principal at the start of 2023, Vowles has spearheaded the beginning of a new era for Williams as the team undergoes a rebuild in order to improve their prospects for the future.

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As part of this process, Pat Fry was brought in as Chief Technical Officer in November 2023, arriving at the squad with more than two decades of experience working for the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine.

This is not the last well-known name to join the team, according to Vowles, with more signings to be announced in due course.

Asked over the Canadian Grand Prix weekend how the rebuilding process has been going since recruiting Fry, Vowles explained: “Very good. We’re not yet, unfortunately, in a position to announce these, but when we do start to announce who we have signed, they’re going to see big names recognised by a lot of people, across our technical organisation, across our aerodynamic organisation.

“And not small numbers. I think we’re at about 20, 30 people now that have huge accolades in the sport and will contribute towards the success of Williams. We’re in a good position – it’s going the way I’d like it to.

“It’s always slower than you’d like it to [be] – you’d like people through the door tomorrow. But what I’ve done is made sure we wait for the right people, and then sign them and bring them in.”

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As well as developing the technical team, speculation has continued over who will be in Williams’ driver line-up in 2025. While Alex Albon has signed a new multi-year contract extension, keeping him at the squad through to 2026, the other seat remains available.

Vowles has made no secret of his efforts to bring current Ferrari racer Carlos Sainz on board, a move he admitted was linked to the wider restructuring of the team.

“There’s a reason why I left Mercedes to come here,” he told Sky Sports F1. “This isn’t the Williams of old, and I think first and foremost the fact that we are having Sainz on our list will certainly show you that this isn’t how we’ve performed of late.

“We are prepared to have a driver line-up that I think is going to be one of the best on the grid, if it’s achieved, and that’s a different era that we’re going into. We’re investing tens if not hundreds of millions to [take] this team back to where it was in terms of success.

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“There is, in the background, a number of really great signings that will slowly start edging out into the world. But this really is a good journey where we’re now starting to see the hard work that started 12 months ago come into play, and that gives me every reason to be confident that we’re moving forward.

“We were a team that were 10th [in the standings] for many years… Yes, last year we were seventh and we started this year poorly, [but] keep an eye out for us. We’re now starting to put performance to the car race by race, and this is a different entity to what it was before.”