Williams team principal James Bowles is willing to lose fifth place in the Formula 1 Constructors Championship after halting development on the current car as he focused on trying to fight again for the title in the future.
In the first part of the season, Williams often fought for points on both cars. He registered the top five finishes and enjoyed four consecutive double points results from Jeddah to Monaco, sitting fifth overall. However, the advantage over Aston Martin, Sauber and Racing Bulls has been reduced in recent rounds, with 25 points covering all four teams, but despite this loud voice, he says the upgrade introduced in Belgium is the last development work to be made on the 2025 car.
“It’s all turned off,” Vowles said. “It’s already been done, it’s decided, and it was done with the consent of the shareholders.
“We really enjoy the fifth fact of the year. I think that’s a great element for ourselves, our partners, for those associated with us, but the goal for this team is to win the World Championships.
“So that decision was made in January, and this (Belgium) update we’re making wasn’t even guaranteed that we’ve done. It was a bit of a factor that we did in the tunnel in January, February and March.
“We’ve done nothing more. I’m not going to do anything more. And if that’s what we’re going to be in the championship or 6th in the seventh place, that’s right.”
Vowles says he’s not surprised Williams is currently fifth in the ranking despite limiting the work he does when developing this year’s cars.
“It’s true, I look back on this season and have the elements we delivered,” he said. “And when we delivered, it’s the result of many iterations of the car in front of us. If you ask me, I’d say it’s probably going to be a very close fight between p5s all the way up to P8.
“And if you look at our performances up to Imola and Miami, you’ll say, “Yeah, the car is (strong), we’re fifth, fourth. We’re picking up good results, so we haven’t made any mistakes with it, but the field is very compact.”
“I think the world was a bit surprised at the distance that Imola and Miami can push this car and develop it. Then the development race kicked in and others added performance, added performance, added performance.
“It’s not the fifth surprise, I think any team might have had a lucky result along the way. We did a good job when the car was fast and was able to pick up as many points as possible.
“So I’m not surprised. I think it’s a long season that remains. I was even more surprised by Imola and Miami that we were as fast as we did. That’s probably the fifth.”