Williams boss James Vowles issued a warning shot across the bow of his drivers as the team continues to chart a path back to the front of the Formula 1 grid.
Enjoying its most competitive season in six years, Williams has seen an upturn in performance in 2025, as drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon spearhead an on-track renaissance.
Working together in a rebuilding phase, the duo are yet to engage in battle on track, an inevitability if fighting for points progresses to podiums in the coming years.
The dangers of intra-team battles are well known to Williams Team Principal Vowles, who has admitted work has already begun to avert a potential flare-up.
Speaking on the Beyond the Grid Podcast, Vowles confirmed that Sainz and Albon had “their egos are checked at the door”, and there is “no alpha between the two of them”.
Responding to a question on whether the drivers would need careful management in the future, the Briton said he was confident of a solution.
“I’m confident I can create a structure that allows them to push each other and themselves and the team, but in a way that’s cohesive towards the result. I’m very confident of that.”
Learning from the Hamilton and Rosberg years
Pressed on how he would create a structure, Vowles harked back to the turbulent early dominance of Mercedes with the fraught Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg duel.
“I would do it more how we learned how to process it towards the later years,” he explained.
“I think I was very green in 2014/2015. We had a structure nowhere near robust and strong enough to deal with two potential world champions, which is what they are.
“I’ve learned a tremendous amount from that. And we changed quite a bit on how we were handling things in 2016, 2017, 2018 and even all the way up until 2021.
“So I’ve had the benefit at the end of that journey, and then also followed by the additional learning I’ve had since then as well.
“So there’ll be refinements. You don’t throw the baby out with the bath water, but there’s definite refinements on how to work it.
“Professional racing drivers are like any elite athlete in the world. They want to have something where they know they can push the limits to, but in a way that they understand what those limits are, so that when they’re transcending it, you have a correction mechanism in place.
“So there’ll be refinements. You don’t throw the baby out with the bath water, but there’s definite refinements on how to work it.
“Professional racing drivers are like any elite athlete in the world. They want to have something where they know they can push the limits to, but in a way that they understand what those limits are, so that when they’re transcending it, you have a correction mechanism in place.
“So the construct isn’t trying to restrict them, it’s trying to give them the boundaries where they know, as a sportsman, they can absolutely push themselves to the limit, but at least they know where the limit is now, because unguided, that limit could be in a very different place.”
Vowles wouldn’t tolerate contact between Williams cars
However, Vowles was resolute in his stance on potential transgressions, confirming contact between the cars would not be tolerated, hinting at dramatic consequences for the drivers.
“I think McLaren have this rule as well. Rule number one is you don’t take each other out. You don’t hurt each other. You don’t push each other off track,” he continued.
“We are here as a team, and the team is bigger than the two of you.
“And if you’re winning a championship or fighting for a championship, that’s the result of all of us working together at this point in time, not despite the fact that we’re all working together.
“That’s sort of the core rule that you can’t go beyond. And I spoke about 2016, or my learning, my learning was you’ve got to be so clear on that, abundantly clear, that people understand that when you transcend that, the consequences are dire.”
“The most harshest of punishments is you’re not in the car next week,” Vowles confirmed, adding “correct” to Tom Clarkson’s audible gasp. He then confirmed this threat is very much on the table, ready to be utilised.
“If you had two drivers that were pushing themselves, that they are effectively crashing into each other more than they’re finishing a race, yes.”
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