James Vowles bets on Mercedes: “I’m sure they will be very strong in 2026”

James Vowles lowers the level of expectations. Strengthened by the authoritative fifth place at the end of the 2025 season, Williams F1 faces the revolution of the technical regulations with the ambition to improve more and more. The model that the fans of the Grove team hope to be able to replicate is that of 2014 when, thanks to the decisive help of the Mercedes engine, the English team managed to collect two consecutive third places in the Constructors’ classification. Team principal James Vowles, however, does not want to raise the level of expectations too much and, even assuming that the new Mercedes power unit could be very competitive (despite the recent controversy over alleged irregularities), he does not believe that Williams can repeat the exploits of the 2014 and 2015 F1 seasons. Why Williams F1 cannot beat Mercedes “If there is one thing in which Mercedes excels – explains the English engineer, who has a long past in Brackley as head of strategies and right-hand man of Toto Wolff, quoted by Motorsport Week magazine – that’s when the regulations change. I think this is 100% clear. We have done everything we can to grow this team and bring it to the level to be able to win a world championship in the future, but at the moment we still don’t have the structures or the capabilities of Mercedes. It’s quite simple. Even if there is still no real feedback from the track and if for the moment all the teams have limited themselves to hypothesizing the balance of power by working on the simulator, according to James Vowles Mercedes could therefore be the team to beat in 2026: “While they prepared themselves practically only by finalizing the regulations and arranging everything, what I did was more than anything else to lay the foundations for the future, as well as trying to concentrate a little on the 2026 car. So what can be done the takeaway is that I know where Mercedes will be next year, and I’m sure they will be very strong. We have to grow Williams F1 step by step, every year. And I think we have the ability to do so.”