“It’s a Dream Come True”: James Vowles Sums Up ‘Emotional’ Day After Driving Title Winning F1 Car

Williams boss James Vowles got a chance to drive an elite machinery of the Grove-based team’s history at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Vowles took the wheel of the 1982 championship-winning FW08 and felt quite mesmerized after his run.

Talking after his initial run up the hill, Vowles stated per Williams’ post on Twitter (now X), “It’s really a dream come true for me. It’s an opportunity to take a fantastic car – the FW08 which is rich in history through Keke Rosberg and others”.

A dream come true today for James who had the pleasure of driving the FW08 up the iconic @fosgoodwood hill alongside some of his hero’s pic.twitter.com/nRJtdRWzoz

— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) July 14, 2024

The 45-year-old felt that it was “an opportunity to celebrate what Williams means” to him. Having joined Williams in 2023, Vowles has been increasingly striving towards restoring the team’s glory days from the 80s and 90s. Thus, driving one of their championship-winning cars certainly left him emotional.

Vowles also recalled the heritage Williams has with nine championships to its name along with 114 Grand Prix wins. While the Grove-based outfit is nowhere near fighting for wins or podiums at present, its past records put the team beside the best constructors such as Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes.

On top of that, Vowles was also quite happy to drive the FW08, a car that is quite peculiar in Williams‘ history. The FW08 was a development based on the FW07, as the Grove outfit introduced it midway through the season at the Belgian GP.

The Williams FW08 won only one Grand Prix in Keke Rosberg’s 1982 championship triumph

The 1982 championship season saw multiple drivers win races, with no single contender stamping his authority for the title. Meanwhile, the Williams FW08 allowed Rosberg to consistently score podiums and stay in the championship hunt.

In fact, Rosberg could only win one race which was the Swiss Grand Prix in Dijon, France towards the end of the season. While championship leader Didier Pironi was out of the season’s remaining races after his injury at the German GP in Hockenheim, Rosberg’s consistency and the Swiss GP win helped him clinch the title.

Did you know?
Mike Hawthorn (Ferrari, 1958) and Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982) are the only two drivers who managed to clinch the title with just a race win. pic.twitter.com/9ZJrGty82v

— PolMat Racing (@PolMatRacing) January 16, 2023

Some of the other drivers who drove the FW08 include Jacques Laffite, Derek Daly, and Ayrton Senna. Laffite joined the Williams team in 1983 and got to drive the evolved iteration of the ’82 car – the FW08C. Meanwhile, Daly was Rosberg’s teammate in ’82.

Senna drove the FW08 in ’83 for a test at Donnington Park. It was in fact the first F1 car that the Brazilian drove. However, that did not lead to Williams signing him as Rosberg and Laffite were already under contract for the next season.