Williams Formula 1 team principal James Vowles confirmed that the performance gaps spotted in the Barcelona‑Catalunya Grand Prix will not be corrected in the coming weeks.
Short‑Term Reality
Pre‑season tests went awry when the car arrived overweight in Bahrain and omitted a private run in Barcelona. The Miami GP upgrades did deliver points in Miami, Montreal and Monaco, but the Barcelona race highlighted persistent flaws in handling and balance.
Vowles, speaking on the “Vowles Verdict” show, said the worst of the current struggles are behind them but that “some of those issues won’t be rectified in the short term.” He added that the Barcelona result was “more of a blip relating to characteristics of the track and elements that are not right in the car.”
Incremental Improvements
“We have a good performance pipeline coming, and it won’t be in one go,” Vowles noted. He outlined a staged plan: minor updates around Silverstone, refinements that could carry into Spa, and larger changes slated for the August break and beyond. By that point, the team plans to introduce substantially new revisions to the chassis and powertrain.
Season Outlook
With the season now a third complete, Williams still has around nine races left from a 22‑to‑23‑race calendar. Vowles stressed that there is “time to remedy this and fix it” if the car’s performance can be delivered in a timely fashion.
Cars currently lag in low‑speed cornering and top‑speed consistency, yet the roadmap remains clear: incremental upgrades, a major overhaul after the long break, and the ambition to avoid the Barcelona‑level exposure again.
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