Williams prepping tri-route upgrade to boost 2024 campaign
Williams is gearing up for a significant update package as it looks to turn its fortunes around in the second half of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
Team principal James Vowles has outlined an approach to improve the team’s underperforming FW46 that will follow “three core routes” and which should carry the Grove-based outfit back into the points.
Williams has struggled to match the pace of its midfield rivals this season, with its car proving to be a significant step backwards compared to its predecessor.
In contrast to the outfit’s 2023 design, which excelled on specific track types, the FW46 has lacked performance across all circuits.
To address this, Williams is focusing on three key areas: aerodynamics, suspension, and weight reduction, a significant weakness that has impacted the team’s results in the first part of the year.
"We have updates coming up this summer break - I hope in Zandvoort and I hope again in Baku or the race after Baku which is Singapore," Vowles said in Spa.
"What I can tell you is there are substantive numbers that should add up to us being back in a position of fighting for points.
"It's achieved through a number of things. It's aerodynamic updates, you're going to see a suspension update, and you're going to see weight coming off the car. So it's fundamentally three core routes wherever we're doing this.”
While confident in the potential of these upgrades, Vowles remains cautious, highlighting the clear challenges faced by other teams this season in introducing significant updates.
"In the world of Formula 1 they're big steps, but my reticence is you've now watched RB who had an update to take it off, Mercedes had an update but took it off,” he said.
“You don't normally see that, teams have confidence in what they do."
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Despite the team's focus on improving its 2024 car, Vowles has confirmed that development efforts for Williams’ 2025 challenger are now well underway.
"We're also investing in 25, so our car in the wind tunnel is not the 2024 car, it's been the 2025 one for quite a few months," he explained.
"The reason why we're doing this is not because I believe in 2025, but I want to get the 2026 car in the tunnel as soon as possible, but still have a sensible 2025 season."
Vowles emphasized the significant shift in approach for Williams, which is now operating on a multi-year development cycle.
“Everything we're doing is basically forward borrowing against getting everything as quickly as possible into 2026,” he explained.
“With the additional resources, we now have team members focused on '24, '25 '26, and a little bit of '27 as well at the same time.
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"That's a change for Williams, we were more used to working one year in advance or even on the current year. And as you can imagine, when you do that within the organisation, it takes time to adapt.
"Nothing I've told you here is special sauce; Mercedes does it, Red Bull does it, but for Williams, it's a large departure."
The coming months will be crucial for Williams as it seeks to recover lost ground and build momentum for the future.
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