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Williams F1 Goes Back to Its Roots, Thinks Success Can Be Found in Being Independent

Williams is a team with an esteemed heritage, but it has fallen to the wayside in recent years. Despite that, there is faith within the racing outfit that it could get back to winning by going back to its roots.
Williams 2022 F1 Car 11 photos
Photo: Williams F1 Team
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While that sounds like a tough job, it turns out that the paradigm shift F1 is going true could help the team. Starting with the financial side, Williams has managed to attract a lot of income. From being taken over by Dorilton Capital to expanding its endeavors in the U.S. market, things are on an upward trend.

But getting money is only one aspect of Formula 1, and there’s always someone willing to spend more. This is where the cost cap comes in, helping level the playing field between the big teams and the rest of the field, giving backmarkers a way back into the game.

It’s true that years of spending by top teams cannot be undone overnight by such a simple rule, but it is a start. On top of that, aerodynamic restrictions that favor the bottom teams further help close the performance gap between competitors.

But according to Williams' head of vehicle performance Dave Robson, there is another important factor at play, and that’s not being a customer team. The train of thought is easy to follow here, as being reliant on another racing outfit for parts will always place you a step behind.

Despite that, Williams still has an ongoing deal with Mercedes, even taking the gearbox from the Silver Arrows last season. Robinson says, however, that Williams will make no further steps toward becoming a customer team.

"They provide us with some amount of hardware that's extremely good. But we are an independent team and we need to take the rest of it forward on our own, or at least be prepared to do that. We'll see what the future holds for 2026  when things get shaken up again. But I don't think we want to follow a Haas model," explained Robinson.

This might sound risky seeing as Haas made a considerable leap in performance through its affiliation with Ferrari. But Haas does not have an esteemed heritage and is not planning to challenge at the top, whereas that could be the end goal for Williams.

Corroborating that, the Grove-based racing outfit is also investing in other areas of its future, even poaching Mercedes chief strategist James Vowles to become the new team principal. This is a big move, and it sets the tone for Williams being heavily invested in securing long-term progress.

The focus does not fall on immediate performance gains, as 2026 is not too far ahead, and it will bring a new shake-up of the field with the new rules that will be introduced. The direction the team is taking sounds a lot more like the Williams of old, willing to bet on being able to innovate in times of change.

We still have a long wait ahead before we get to see any significant improvement from the team. But if we believe the voices at Williams, we can at least be optimistic looking forward.
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About the author: Bogdan Bebeselea
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As a kid, Bogdan grew up handing his dad the tools needed to work on his old Citroen and asking one too many questions about everything happening inside the engine bay. Naturally, this upbringing led Bogdan to become an engineer, but thanks to Top Gear, The Fast and the Furious series, and racing video games, a passion for automotive entertainment was ignited.
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