James Vowles doesn’t believe in “bad luck”. It’s a surprising stance from the leader of a Formula 1 team with nine constructors’ and seven drivers’ titles to its name, that spent the last two decades treading water behind the new top dogs. However, just down the road from Oxford exists an unmistakable sense of forward motion. Williams Racing is looking to make a return to the front of the F1 field, building on the foundations of historic accolades, but looking forward to a new era of success. As team principal, James Vowles stands at the helm of their fight back to the front.
When I speak to Vowles, heading into the last quarter of the 2025 Formula 1 season, the schedule seems impossibly full: “We’re going to be racing our 2025 car, whilst building our 2026 car, and we’re having our 2027 meetings in the background as well. It gets a little bit hectic.”
Amid the chaos of the 2025 season, his priorities are far more structural, focusing on changes back at HQ in Grove to support the long-term vision of William’s comeback. “We didn’t put the focus on this year’s car. What we were doing, and still doing, is just fixing some foundational ways of working. What I’m happy about is just doing the basics right and producing a reasonable, competitive car.”
The back-to-basics approach has paid off. So far, in 2025, Williams has earned more points than in the previous two seasons combined, and currently sits P5 in the constructors’ championship, leading a tight midfield battle into the final races of the season.
This upward momentum is, as Vowles insists, not the result of one silver bullet but of shared belief. Though no longer family-operated, the culture of an independent family business remains strong at Grove, where 1,100 employees come together under a single goal. “The amount of passion in Williams is extraordinary, and it’s what drives the team”, Vowles says, using an apt motoring metaphor, he explains, “It’s a little bit like an engine. Once you’ve introduced a little bit of fuel, air, and some spark, it drives itself. That’s the same within Williams. It’s now self-propelling.”
Williams’ driver lineup embodies that same spirit in Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz. “Drivers are fascinating individuals”, Vowles says, “The driver is the most expensive, but also the best sensor that we have in the car, and they’re very good at directing a team, so trust them and their voice.”
The data-driven philosophy relies on a handy rule of three. He explains, “Number one is the car itself. Number two is the driver – they’re the best sensor we have. And number three is the data, the lap times. If two of those sources align, that’s the truth.”
As Team Principal, Vowles recognises his role as both strategist and communicator. “My job is to create a North Star that we can all look and point at, and if you’re unsure where we’re going, it’s always in the sky.” That North Star extends beyond the Oxfordshire factory, with William’s media presence involving debriefs and team statements to provide clarity following race weekends. For Vowles, media responsibility is an opportunity rather than a burden. “Transparency is really important to me. It’s who I am as a character.”
“It doesn’t matter if there is a camera in front of my face, or whether we’re chatting on the street. I’m here to go racing, make a fast racing car, win championships and to do it in the most sportsmanlike manner”. This approach, he argues, has strengthened Williams’ relationship with its supporters and opened its doors to the next generation of team members. “For Williams to be successful, we need people to be behind us on a journey. We are sports and entertainment. We have to remember that at our core.”
Beyond the social media spotlight and pressures of managing the season, there is constant attention to Williams’ future. For Vowles, the long-term plan to champion success in motorsport naturally gravitates to the role of students and graduates. “I really believe in investing in our future generations,” he says, acknowledging the importance of continuity in leadership. “I’m here to bring this team to a much better place, but then take the shirt and hand it over to the next generation so that I can watch from the sidelines and be incredibly proud of what I’ve been able to develop.”
For Williams, that mission begins close to home. “We’re an Oxford-based team. And so what makes more sense to me than anything in my mind is taking one of the top-tier universities and presenting an opportunity and a pathway that we will take the brightest and best.” Roughly 12% of Williams’ workforce are early career engineers, graduates or apprentices, and the team takes pride in how meaningfully they contribute. ‘What is different in Williams is when you come in, you’re not doing paperwork. You are, from day one, a reason why this team will be successful in the future and given real roles and responsibilities.”
That philosophy starts even earlier. Through Williams’ free STEM Education Programme, 10,000 students aged 8-16 have been supported to learn about engineering, teamwork and innovation. Williams is conscious of planting seeds in curious minds, recognising that career choices “start stemming around 11 to 13 years old”. After an apology for the stem pun, he explains, “It’s really important to speak to people in that age group, and just saying: here’s STEM, it allows you to go into Formula 1, but it doesn’t have to. That’s a very Williams-specific thing, but I’m passionate about bringing the brightest and best, irrespective of the age group.”
For all the passion that fuels Formula 1, Vowles is candid about the work-hard, play-hard culture of the sport. “It’s highly addictive, but it’s bloody hard. There’s no stopping to it.”
It is difficult to discuss Formula 1 without a mention of the Netflix series Drive to Survive, but Vowles is honest about demystifying the onscreen glamour. “You can look at Netflix and think it’s lovely. It’s 24 countries all over the world, 24 different locations”, Vowles says. It’s no secret that Netflix has driven significant traffic to F1, but short television episodes can only show so much of the story. “People who come to work for me are dedicating their lives towards it. It’s passion.” The intensity is balanced by unparalleled gratification: “It’s not a nine-to-five, and I’m frank about that, but it will give you a reward that’s beyond anything you’ll experience anywhere else.”
Fortunately, we had a recent example to discuss, speaking shortly after Carlos Sainz secured 3rd place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. This was his first podium with Williams, and the team’s first since George Russel’s second place at the same circuit in 2021. Simply put, the result “meant the world to individuals who have given everything.”
“There’s no politics. There’s nothing blocking you. It’s just down to you, your intelligence, your innovation, your will and want and desire, and that’s what attracted me, and why I haven’t left in 25 years.”
Behind the attention to future generations, Williams doesn’t lose sight of the legacy it has inherited. However, in the fast-paced world of F1, a team cannot run on history alone. “What I never want to be doing is resting on the laurels that were created for me here.”
As we wrap up, he turns his attention to the students just a few miles away in Oxford. “People can be part of an incredible journey, rebuilding this sleeping giant back into what it should be. And that drives people on, far more than any words that I can use.”
The results this season certainly do speak louder than words. Call it fortune if you like, but at Grove, there’s no such thing as a change in luck. Williams is in the business of making its own.
