{"id":30007,"date":"2025-02-04T10:02:18","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T15:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=30007"},"modified":"2025-02-04T10:08:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T15:08:58","slug":"f1-news-williams-in-far-better-shape-heading-into-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/04\/f1-news-williams-in-far-better-shape-heading-into-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 News: Williams in far better shape heading into 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the build-up to Bahrain testing in 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/02\/f1-williams-already-preparing-for-best-run-possible-in-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Williams<\/a> faced a series of major problems. From logistical concerns to missed development targets, they were on the defensive.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully for the Grove-based team, various changes are creating a far more promising image heading into 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Not only are Williams anticipating a positive trajectory, but team principal James Vowles explains that Carlos Sainz is already making an impact.<\/p>\n<h2>F1 2025 could be a step forward for Williams<\/h2>\n<p>In many ways, the volume of headlines that surrounded Williams last season was unprecedented.<\/p>\n<p>From Logan Sargeant&#8217;s dismissal to the arrival of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/16\/franco-colapintos-sponsors-played-important-role-in-alpine-deal\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Franco Colapinto<\/a>, there were plenty of big developments for the British squad.<\/p>\n<p>Arguably the most persistent issue for Williams was their crash damages, which reached the tens of millions by the end of 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Not only were these incidents a headache for engineers, but they had a knock-on effect into the team&#8217;s preparations for 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Williams were eventually forced to use older specifications in the final rounds of the year &#8211; in a desperate attempt to reduce costs.<\/p>\n<p>For obvious reasons, these conditions have somewhat compromised their preparations for this year&#8217;s campaign.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"1vYDHM93QKx6H5WgF1E4zg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2186590283\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'1vYDHM93QKx6H5WgF1E4zg',sig:'_ab6uUIcHQshj3CXyEPa6pT6hm7amALzuOFxwluw0CE=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2186590283',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>Vowles: Sainz is already making a difference<\/h4>\n<p>With that said, team principal <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/12\/01\/james-vowles-confirms-several-teams-interested-in-colapinto\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">James Vowles<\/a> has painted a very encouraging picture about the factory&#8217;s progress.<\/p>\n<p>Vowles is particularly vocal about Carlos Sainz&#8217;s impact:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;So he&#8217;s [Sainz] been with us, for really a few weeks now,&#8221; <\/em>he told Sky Sports.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Of course, he tested with us in Abu Dhabi last year,&#8221;\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Already now, I&#8217;m seeing &#8211; some it is intangible &#8211; you can see how people are reacting to where he is.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Where they want to stand up to the level we&#8217;re now operating to.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Sainz is the first race-winner since Felipe Massa to drive for Williams. His presence, whilst an obvious performance boost, also adds pressure.<\/p>\n<p>In response, James Vowles is working to raise the standards at Grove.<\/p>\n<p>With only a few weeks left before pre-season testing, the Williams team principal is excited about the changes:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;In the engineering briefings, how we&#8217;re talking [is different].<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;This morning for example, we had a meeting for 3-4 hours discussing tyres, systems, what we&#8217;re going to move forward &#8211; how we&#8217;re going to test over the next few weeks.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;It&#8217;s a world of difference from where we were, because we have two drivers working together for the success of a team.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;That&#8217;s what I was hoping for, but you&#8217;re never quite sure if it will translate that way.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;But absolutely the race-winning pedigree that comes with him, and the expertise that comes with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/11\/21\/alex-albon-looking-forward-to-challenge-of-facing-carlos-sainz\/\" target=\"_self\">Alex [Albon]<\/a>, merging together to make a better unit.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"2fw4b-5_RJdRDfKYgu9jhw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2188769185\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'2fw4b-5_RJdRDfKYgu9jhw',sig:'HA-pTcsOvRI1jcnOrcSeVA_YCWrHPADfamUrVl_Tx2Q=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2188769185',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>Making up for lost ground<\/h4>\n<p>Like most teams across the team, Williams have been unapologetic about prioritising the 2026 regulations.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, despite all the obstacles that emerged last year, James Vowles has previously explained that work on 2026 has been unaffected.<\/p>\n<p>The British team have already allocated a series of personnel to focus exclusively on the next regulatory cycle.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/02\/f1-haas-profitable-reach-budget-cap-for-the-first-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Haas profitable, reach budget cap for the first time<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Despite this, the next twelve months are not a write-off.<\/p>\n<p>Because of the long-standing strategy to focus on the 2026 cars as quickly as possible, Williams started developing this season&#8217;s package relatively early.<\/p>\n<p>In combination with the crash damages sustained, this approach is why hardly any upgrades arrived after the Dutch GP.<\/p>\n<p>This year&#8217;s FW47 should be a significant step forward from its predecessor.<\/p>\n<p>Pushing towards the top of the midfield is a realistic objective for Williams, who are also confident their driver line-up is the best it&#8217;s had in recent memory.<\/p>\n<p>With infrastructure and recruitment falling into place behind the scenes,<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/16\/james-vowles-reiterates-williams-sacrifice-for-2026\/\" target=\"_self\"> James Vowles&#8217; personnel<\/a> are targeting a notable improvement on their 9th place finish from 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the build-up to Bahrain testing in 2024, Williams faced a series of major problems. From logistical concerns to missed development targets, they were on the defensive. Thankfully for the Grove-based team, various changes are creating a far more promising image heading into 2025. Not only are Williams anticipating a positive trajectory, but team principal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":26609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[68,2452,94],"class_list":["post-30007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-f1","tag-f1-2025-season","tag-williams"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30007"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30010,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30007\/revisions\/30010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}