James Vowles: I really sympathize with Ferrari and Alpine

At a press conference in Las Vegas, James Vowles commented on the situation that arose at the beginning of the first training session, which stopped work on the track, and also summarized the preliminary results of his first year as head of the Williams team .

James Vowles: “You can see how many teams have prepared special versions of their cars’ liveries for this weekend – this shows how important an event everyone thinks the Las Vegas Grand Prix is.

Of course, what happened in the first practice today is disappointing, and I really sympathize with Ferrari and Alpine, whose cars were damaged. If we were in their place it would have major consequences for our situation in the championship. But in the end we will overcome the difficulties that have arisen, and the show on the track will continue.

When we talk about the work of our team this year, everything is going better than I had hoped. But we are aiming to climb to higher positions, and the reality is that McLaren and AlphaTauri have managed to make very serious progress throughout the season. Therefore, our intentions are clear: Williams must also develop and continue to progress.

We are now earning points regularly, so our position has changed a lot from a year ago. But to qualify for better results, you will have to put in a lot more effort.

I am lucky in the sense that I have great specialists in my team who help me a lot. I also learned a lot from Toto Wolff, although I don’t apply everything in my work because, to be honest, some of it is complete nonsense! (laughs) But seriously, he really taught me a lot. In any case, I need to catch up quickly to catch up with more experienced team leaders.

But to take Williams to the next level, a lot of work has to be done, and of course the team leader doesn’t do it alone; This process involves 800 people, whose work is not always visible from the outside. And it is our job to direct their efforts in the right direction.”