Dorilton told James Vowles "We didn’t mind if he was P10 for three years as long as the 2026 car was good"

As important as McLaren is to the sport, as important as Ferrari is to the sport, so is Williams. It is one of the last bastions of original Formula 1 ownership, the ultimate of the fabled 'garagiste' teams. From a humble garage to a racing empire that in the 80s and 90s was the pick of the paddock. Most of the greatest names in our sport drove for Williams.

As a team, it is an important cornerstone of our sport. The legend that is Sir Frank Williams has to be preserved and cherished as much as Enzo Ferrari. The Knight's legacy is what remains of his team. He would not be happy, I imagine.

Therein lies the origins of my anger directed at the leadership of their team at the moment. 

Blame it on James Vowles. The buck stops with him, he is not the right man to lead Williams. I have written it before, and do so again. Williams is too important to ignore. Enough of over 25 years watching this team being dragged through the mud.

Williams Racing, the Formula 1 team Sir Frank built was once Britain's team. Before Lewis Hamilton hijacked the honour and took the allegiance to United Kingdom based Mercedes.

For decades, many times in the face of advesity and in 'enemy' territory, Williams it was that flew the Union Jack. Drivers with flag in hand on the cool down lap, whenever they won. And they won a lot. They were mighty once.

Thus, fan or not of the team, as a purist, the importance of Williams is too grand for me to stay tight lipped in an age when elite mismanagement and lack of accountability is waging a war against the truth, against what is right and covering up for their buddies, their circle.

With that in mind, I ache when I see Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon struggling through no fault of their own. Two well respected drivers who should be at the front end of the grid in good machinery and are capable of doing so.

Carlos is a winner. Both he and Alex are gentlemen. They have been incredibly disciplined in not having a massive rant considering their careers are on halt at a time they can least afford it. Stagnant because of the lack of vision, lack of leadership, and as a result a dreadful 2026 car.

The cry for help that prompted this opinion piece was Carlos Sainz, the epitomy of good manners, losing his cool on Friday in Miami during another woeful session: “We are three steps behind where we should be, every lap! And I’m not happy with this. It can not be that, after one hour and a half of practice and we are still in this state!”

Driver grievance on the record, I will also remind Dorilton and their shareholders of their expectations for this 2026 campaign. The implication was that they had accepted that Vowles had not delivered on what he had promised with the old generation cars. They generously gave him a pass for that. But insisted 2026 was the key to a resurgence.

By the end of last season, it seemed that they might be heading in the right direction, although the FW47 was awful. It took Sainz and Albon to deliver some of the most incredible efforts to bring that car over the line. It was a bad car, but the drivers’ tenacity made Vowles and Williams look good.

It was not Williams that finished P5 in the championship. It was Albon. It was Sainz and Albon. They showed what they are capable of.

For 2026 they had every right to feel confident that they could be a top team once again, until the reality dropped: a late and overweight car, a disaster of a project, no end in sight while their team principal launches himself on a self-promotion tour as a reward.

During an interview with Front Office Sports in December 2025, Williams owners Dorilton Capital co-founder Matthew Savage set the goals: “We’re still taking the patient approach and the long term perspective.

“One of the pluses about a cost cap is that other teams can’t go nuts. The downside is that you can’t catch up quickly. The other piece to F1 is that it’s a complex engineering business, so you can’t just hire a couple of great drivers and be good.

"We felt this was going to be a long road, and we had to invest in basic processes and systems. We even told James Vowles that we didn’t mind if he came in 10th for three years as long as the 2026 car was good.

“McLaren is a neat case study for us because they were really having difficulties and then they started rebuilding after that. So where we are now, you could use one of those Winston Churchill quotes. It’s the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end. We’re just getting started.”

On the impact of the 2026 regulations, apprently with no idea in December last year of the disaster that lay ahead, Savage said: “It’s hard to know until we hit the track. It’s a kind of a black box, and it’s a black box in two directions. One is engine and engine performance, and the other is chassis design and aerodynamics.

“We’ve just had the most competitive season ever in terms of how close the field was, which is awesome for the sport. But I think you’ll most likely see an expansion of the delta between teams. It’s what usually happens in a Concorde Agreement when it starts off as people try to figure out different solutions, and then they copy each other, and everybody ends up closer.

“I also know that we’re not quite there yet in terms of being World Championship level with our processes across the whole team. So I would expect others to have been a little further advanced than us. I feel quietly confident in where we’ll be, but I don’t think we’ll be beating everybody.

"That will take some more work. I hope to again be competing for podiums. I’ve told the teams, there’s a couple more steps on that podium and we’re not done yet.”

On ownership and long term commitment to Williams, Savage said: “We have the capital to keep investing in the business. We expect to take further steps forward in the constructors and I think valuations will keep going north.

“We’re also growing our commercial revenue significantly. Last year into this year, we grew 100 percent, and next year we expect to grow another 50 percent or more. The neat thing, unlike some other private equity funds, is that we don’t have to sell."

"We can keep this for the long run. We’ve always thought about this as a 10, 20, 25, 30 year project potential," revealed Savage. Which suggests to me their vision is to return the team to winning level, and one that would make Sir Frank proud.

With Christian Horner and Jonathan Wheatley floating about looking for work, and the fact that a decade ago when Paddy Lowe was fired for a similar offence but with far less money at his disposal, it is hard to see the current TP staying in the job.

That is, of course, if Savage and Dorilton are serious or they are simply BS artists like their man Vowles.

Oops. I nearly forgot, if you want to catch Vowles in the flesh, pop off to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, he will be driving one of the iconic Williams F1 heritage cars.

He figures himself in the cockpit of a great car is a far better idea, than one of his current drivers or the living legends the team could tap into for the run. Although elderly, Alan Jones would go for it I am sure. 

If not him what about the other fit and ready World Champions Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost or Jacques Villeneuve. Not to mention real Williams winners such as JP Montoya, Ralf Schumacher, Riccardo Patrese, Thierry Boutsen, David Coulthard etc?

Thankfully joining Vowles on the Goodwood FOS jolly, is Damon Hill to add credibility to the driver line-up and possibly save the extravagance. Have fun James, while Grove burns!