r/WilliamsF1 • u/wifikid_25 • 17d ago
Discussion New Williams fan here/Current Ferrari Fan/Carlos fan
Hey, what's up, y'all? I've been a fan of Carlos Sainz ever since I started watching F1, so it was natural that I find myself here, wanting to know more about Williams itself. I am mostly a Ferrari fan but I want to keep in touch with Williams and I hope the best for Carlos and Williams as a whole.
My main question is: is there a place I can gain knowledge about how Williams operates as an F1 team? Who are the people at the factory? Who are the people in the pits? What are Williams's strengths and weaknesses? What do they usually do throughout the season, from their shakedown to their strategies at GPs? What traits do their cars have? What are the characteristics of the team and the car?
I will note that I've listened to James' videos on his updates from the team and honestly he's got this calm to him that is very unique and I'm intrigued as to what he's going to do with it next year.
I know a lot already about Ferrari, having visited Maranello myself, but I'd love to know more about Williams in time for the upcoming season. I think it's going to be an exciting season for all.
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u/4_String_Joe 17d ago edited 17d ago
Welcome! I'm a Williams Lifer, but I've always liked Carlos. Excited to have him on board even if it only ends up being 2 years. One of the reasons Vowles got the job is his focus on iterative process. He's been tasked with taking this team from P10 to front of the midfield in 4 years. Along the way, modernizing ops and embracing the utilization of advanced analytics.The place I would start would be his Beyond the Grid episodes. They're a great "behind the curtain" on what he's already done and what he plans to do for 2025-26. The past 2 years, our car has been great in a straight line. Literally won Nyck de Vries a spot on the grid because all he had to do at Monza 22 was not crash. But we still need improvement pretty much everywhere else. That is where Carlos's approach will really shine and hopefully lead to a P7 or better finish next year. He's always been good about giving direct feedback to technical staff and engineers. And that's what we desperately need.
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u/nicolas_maximus 17d ago
Also there is a documentary that shows how Williams became a team and goes through all their time but to around the 2010s I think. It’s a good watch
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u/MulberryForward7361 17d ago
Download the Williams app. And save your money until they improve the quality of their merch!
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u/NeighborhoodThat8508 17d ago
Take my place, man. I'm a Franco fan, so I'm on my way out. The best for Carlos, a great driver.
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u/Pika_Cherry24 13d ago
I’m on the same boat joining the Williams club as a Carlos fan, excited to be part of the Williams Journey, you lot got any Williams server where you discuss about race weekends?
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u/postbox134 17d ago edited 17d ago
Welcome! More recently, James' videos are great. The last few years have been an interesting ride - 2014 was very strong with the Merc engine and Mass/Bottas which slowly dropped off over the rest of the decade, worst in 2019/2020 with 1 and 0 points in the WCC. COVID + the ROKiT saga basically called time on the team as it stood - leading to it's current private equity ownership. Claire Williams did a recent podcast talking about that time in detail which was interesting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bg7bOTZL9o
From about 2014-2023 Williams was one of the most efficient cars on the grid - i.e. downforce for drag, but peak downforce was very bad. This meant the car was tricky to drive (lower downforce gives the drivers less scope for mistakes) and peaky (Monza, Canada etc. were good tracks, most tracks were poor) - we'd typically score points only on a handful of weekends a year. More recently, there's been an effort to make a more well rounded car. Williams has been budget constrained for many years and lacked investment - it's well documented that James is changing a lot of this in anticipation for 2026 - i.e. replacing Excel and hiring lots of staff. Historically F1 didn't require this, but since 2010 that has changed completely. Don't expect too much next year, the target is probably P8 or P7 in the WCC as a holding year while resources are spent on 2026 - same for most/every team (except perhaps Ferrari/McLaren/Red Bull who will be fighting for the WDC/WCC)
Williams has a bunch of history- if you want a view into that and the Claire Williams era check this out: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6981046/ (the book is also excellent - by Frank Williams' wife in secret https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35873311-a-different-kind-of-life - very sad though regarding his serious health issues).
Also Adrian Newey's book has a lot about his time at Williams back when we were winning a lot - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35657708-how-to-build-a-car