James Vowles: The team has acquired a new quality

      Williams are pleased with the progress in the team refresh and in optimizing manufacturing processes…

      James Vowles, team principal: "This year we were able to optimize the design and manufacturing processes at our Grove base, shorten the lead time for new parts and often bring new parts to events ahead of schedule. At Spa we took a certain risk, arriving with only three sets of new parts, but those upgrades worked and the team was able to take an important step forward.

      A unique feature of this season was that all the midfield teams' upgrades worked very well; as a result, after a strong start to the season we began to slip backwards. We needed to bring that upgrade [to Spa] to make up the lost ground, and it worked. That shows we did everything right.

      We are methodically preparing for next season, eliminating our weaknesses. Last year the car was too heavy. We didn't have enough spare parts. We tried to implement our ideas but didn't achieve the desired result.

      One of the most important improvements over the past 24 months has been the ability to get a proposed solution onto the track as quickly as possible at a reasonable cost, and this is evident in this year's car. The car was ready on time, with a sufficient number of spare parts. We steadily developed it over the course of the season, producing a few front wings and several aero packages. The team has gained a new quality, significantly improved its working efficiency, confidently operating within a limited budget. All of this bodes well for 2026. I'm confident that next season we will be able to surprise."