Williams boss James Vowles has analogised that his running of the team is akin to putting bumpers on the lane of a bowling alley, as it looks to build on a promising start to the Formula 1 season.
The Grove-based squad is currently winning the battle of the midfield, sitting fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, with a 26-point advantage over Racing Bulls.
Williams’ healthy buffer, which is already 37 points more than its 2024 total, has been won through some impressive showings, including Miami, in which Alex Albon finished fifth, ahead of both Ferraris and within 10 seconds of Max Verstappen.
Under Vowles’ leadership, Williams has seen marked and steady improvement over the last few seasons, and with the addition of Carlos Sainz to its driver roster alongside Albon, the team, objectively, can boast its first truly two-man strong line-up in years.
Prior to the last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Vowles gave an insight into his leadership, and how he is now largely removed from the strategic side of a team, having been Chief Strategist and Motorsport Strategy Director at Mercedes.
He theorised that his style of management, to engage rather than dictate, and to promote a freedom of thought culture is what is helping the team move forward.
“The best way I can describe it is, when you go to a bowling alley with a three-year-old or a really competitive teenager, you put bumpers up on the side,” Vowles told media including Motorsport Week. “And I see my job as just acting as one of those bumpers.
“If I see things that are just going the wrong direction – not to tell people what to do, that’s not my job – ask questions, allow them to think through things differently.
“And there were a few examples of that in Imola, for example. But in reality, the team… I’m not in the detail that they’re in. They are working 12 hours a day every day in that level of detail and I trust them and empower them in what they’re doing.
“The difference is when you helicopter above a bit, you can see something slightly different, and you bring that to their attention.”
Vowles, the predicted Mercedes ‘yes man’ to Williams’ rejuvenator
When Vowles joined Williams, there were predictions that the once-great team were destined to be little more than a Mercedes ‘B Team’, given its engine deal with the German marque and his former role with the team.
However, by the end of its first season in charge, it seemed he had earned the respect of many people within F1, and the team’s steady trajectory has been the proof in the pudding that he was worthy of moving up in the ranks on the pit wall.
His apparent easy-going nature and personable approach have made Vowles one of the most popular team bosses on the grid, furthered by his even-handed way of dealing with certain issues.
Williams’ team radio debacle in Miami was a good example, managing to nip the burgeoning contention between Albon and Sainz in the bud quickly.
Despite it being Williams’ biggest team orders situation in years, Vowles said the issue was resolved “in about two minutes.”
Although the team suffered from tricky moments during the European triple-header, it is well placed to continue in its battle for midfield supremacy until the summer break.
READ MORE – How Spain exposed Williams weakness that needs fixing despite 2026 F1 rules reset
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