‘I’m really excited by what we have coming’ – Vowles on signing Sainz, re-shaping his technical team, and his long-term plans for Williams

“I’m going to sound very boring but everything comes down to data,” he says. “When I joined, we didn’t know how long it would take to design or build a front wing. We didn’t know where it was in a system. That will work for one front wing but it won’t work when you’re trying to create 20,000 bits in one go.

“Where do we have to be by ‘26? We must have data wrapped around everything. That means you won’t go over capacity anymore. It might mean we can’t be as big and bold as we want to be, but we’ll build the car to right the spec, standard, the right quality and the right cost.

READ MORE: ‘I really believe in the project’ – Sainz opens up on his decision to sign with Williams

“We’ll start there and then build out resources around that, including facilities, to add performance on top. That’s where I know we can get to in 2026. Beyond there, facilities, new simulators – all those bits will come online. They are being ordered in the background.

“We’re spending money in the background and they will appear in the next two or three years. Then we have to use them correctly. You can’t run before you’re walking and we’re not walking yet.”

Owners Dorilton believe in Vowles’ vision, which means they are providing the resources for the small, medium and large projects while also remaining patient – a trait that hasn’t always been prevalent in Formula 1 across the years.