James Vowles has already made his ambitions clear of wanting to guide Williams back to the front of the grid again. To achieve this goal of his, he has already taken a huge step by signing two world-class drivers for 2025 — Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz. And as Williams continue to improve upon other areas, Vowles has also reiterated his full faith in their supplier Mercedes’ engine program for the 2026 regulations.
On the Beyond the Grid podcast, Vowles said, “I think Mercedes have done an exceptional job and I was very pleased to be able to extend our partnership again.” He then explained why he believes Mercedes will have the edge.
“The technology is of course the same. But it’s really a complete redesign. The relationships between the electric side and the internal combustion engine are completely different. Mercedes has been very smart in investing in these new areas early,” he added.
“When we’re beating Ferrari, I think he’d prefer to be here”
A bold prediction from Williams’ James Vowles as he discusses the incoming Carlos Sainz and much more on the Beyond The Grid podcast. Click to listen in full! #F1 pic.twitter.com/WMMn8hB3CT
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 2, 2024
Williams has had a long partnership with Mercedes as the Grove-based outfit have used their engines since the 2014 season. Back then, Mercedes dominated the sport as they produced arguably the strongest engine during the turbo-hybrid era.
Mercedes‘ engine was so powerful when compared to their rival power unit suppliers that even their customer teams such as Williams achieved a huge amount of success despite having much fewer resources than the top sides such as McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull.
Williams finished the 2014 campaign in third, behind champions Mercedes and second-placed Red Bull. Considering that Williams have performed well with Mercedes during the turbo-hybrid era, they will hope that the new era of regulations will help them achieve similar success.
