As Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz celebrated qualifying sixth and 10th at Albert Park in the 2025 Formula 1 opener, the joy at more evidence of the Williams team’s revival was tempered by the forecast of rain for race day.
Williams may be a quintessentially British team but this wasn’t a case of it indulging itself in that famous British habit of talking about the weather.
Analysis of the long runs in practice have suggested Williams is ‘best of the rest’ outside the top four teams. Albon also confirmed after qualifying that the Grove-based outfit had focused on race pace rather than one-lap performance.
But all this assumes dry running, and Sunday’s forecast is so unequivocal about the likelihood of rain that a story briefly circulated the paddock that contingency plans were being drawn up to delay the race start by up to an hour if conditions dictate. Not only will wet weather introduce a randomising element to the grand prix for all runners, last year it exposed a particular weakness on the Williams car.
At the start of the season, the production delays meant many elements of the FW46 which should have been made of composites had to be replaced by metal equivalents, magnifying the effects of damage and frequently leaving Williams short of spare parts.
Availability of new components continued to be an issue after a mid-season car upgrade, exacerbated by a series of crashes late on which required the team to fly more personnel to Abu Dhabi.
Alex Albon, Williams FW46, gets out of the car after crashing out of Qualifying
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
While Williams made a point of launching the FW47 early this season to demonstrate publicly that it has consigned these organisational issues to history, there was another problem to resolve.
Both the team and its drivers have been cagey about the specifics of the brake issues that affected its cars in the wet last year, most notably at November’s Brazilian Grand Prix which Albon was forced to miss after crashing at the Senna ‘S’ during the delayed qualifying session.
“Immediately when I hit the brake pedal, there was a beep in my ear, which normally means there’s a failure. And then rear locking and a big crash,” Albon said at the time.
Rain throughout the weekend meant qualifying was delayed until Sunday morning, and Franco Colapinto had already crashed in the other Williams, so there was no chance of repairing Albon’s car for the race. Immediately before the shunt, Albon had complained that his wheels were locking up unpredictably under braking.
The problem is believed to be unrelated to the electronics glitch, which caused erstwhile team-mate Logan Sargeant to spin off and require a steering wheel change in the Bahrain Grand Prix earlier that year.
“We have a decent car in the wet, I think,” said Albon after qualifying in Melbourne. “It doesn’t always show – or rather it’s a bit circuit-specific.
James Vowles, Team Principal Williams with Alex Albon, William
Photo by: Williams
“We fixed some of the brake issues we had in Brazil. We made some decisions this weekend to make sure we don’t have the same issues in case it rains, so I’m confident we can get on top of it [racing in the wet].”
This is another example of the wider changes rippling through Williams under team boss James Vowles. As a former strategy engineer, Vowles well knows the importance of leaving nothing to chance, and of factoring in every eventuality.
He will also be well-versed in the maxim, popularly if incorrectly attributed to Albert Einstein, that the definition of insanity is to repeat a failed course of action while expecting a different result.
Incremental progress, identifying the small but fixable problems rather than trying to change everything at once, has been the hallmark of the past couple of years at Williams HQ.
As Vowles said in the team principals’ press conference in Melbourne: “There’s no one thing that just suddenly switches a car on and makes it better.”
Rain on race day for the Australian Grand Prix could afford just the opportunity to demonstrate the power of learning from mistakes.
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Williams team principal James Vowles has attributed his squad’s strong early phase of the 2025 Formula 1 year to gains it has made on “low-hanging fruit” developments for its car and factory systems.
The British team enjoyed a strong Bahrain pre-season test – finishing with the quickest time overall and competitive long-run averages when compared with its midfield rivals Alpine and Haas.
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New recruit Carlos Sainz, who set F1 testing’s quickest time for the second year in succession after moving across from Ferrari, then finished second in the heavily disrupted opening practice for the season’s curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix.
In the same session a year ago, albeit at round three in 2024, Alex Albon crashed the FW46 so hard the car was written off for the weekend, so he was given then-team-mate Logan Sargeant’s car to complete the weekend.
When asked how positive the team was feeling currently in the team principals’ press conference between practice sessions in Melbourne, Vowles said: “It’s a team that’s been through so much pain and when I joined a few years ago, you could feel it.
“I know I’m a man of science, but you really could feel this sort of difficult period that the team had been through, and that’s not the case now.
“But actually, one item that we didn’t talk about in there is our future. So, it’s great what’s going on now. This is what I would call the most low-hanging fruit that we’re picking up along the way.
James Vowles, Team Principal, Williams Racing
Photo by: Getty Images
“There are some great things that are happening back in Grove that are more coming online across the next few years, and you can see it in individuals that it’s just building this momentum and positive energy. So what you see today is just a little bit of a fallout for it.
“But it is an FP1. It’s great, it’s nice to see, but it’s an FP1. Let’s wait until qualifying and the race and a few races in, which is also why I’ll bring everyone to our future and the destination we’re going towards.”
Much of Williams early year-on-year gains have been found by starting with the FW47 at the 800kg car weight limit from the off. Its predecessor had been so heavy to start with that it was giving away nearly 0.5s a lap this time last year, due to major inefficiencies in the team’s design and manufacturing processes.
This meant parts were produced later than expected and had to be made of heavier materials to try and shortcut the process as much as possible before lighter replacements could be built.
Albon suggested on Thursday that even around this, the FW47 was producing faster lap times than expected, although Vowles moved to play this down.
“I think where the car’s moved to, we need to reassess based on a few things, but it’s about where we expected it to be,” he said.
“But what Alex was talking about is, one of the aspects is – from a driving perspective – it gives them a lot more confidence than last year’s car.
“Formula 1’s a strange business. There are no silver bullets. There’s no one thing that just suddenly switches a car on and makes it better.”
Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
For 2025, Williams has switched to a pushrod arrangement for its rear suspension – aligning it with engine and gearbox supplier Mercedes.
Vowles said this “helps a tiny bit” in terms of lap time gain but insisted his team’s improvements were more down to its changes elsewhere.
He explained: “What we’ve done over the last few years in terms of developing our tools and systems that produce better vehicle dynamics, better aero, a better way of combining the car together is all coming together at the moment, and that’s what makes effectively the package better and better.
“It’s really not one area, though. It’s a culmination of a team that’s starting to get strength working together.”
Vowles was also asked if he felt Williams was falling behind Aston Martin in terms of facilities development, with the green team announcing on Friday that the new wind tunnel at its redeveloped factory was in operation.
But Vowles deflected the question, saying: “We fell behind 15 years ago, so it’s not a question of now.”
“We’ve been investing,” he added. “As Aston have been investing as well, and McLaren have been investing, for the last few years. So, the point of that investment is to try and stem where we have been and create a new future.
Alex Albon, Williams
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“Wind tunnel – without question, Aston’s will be benchmark, but I’m comfortable with that.
“Where we are on wind tunnel is, let’s see where we are, but we are moving slowly up the grid, which is an indication we’re probably using our facilities fairly well. So, in that regard, I think we’re ok.
“Where we have other issues elsewhere within the infrastructure of the organisation, but we have plans in place to rectify that across the next years.
“It’s not something that you do overnight. So, it’s different – it’s not so much falling behind, we’re already on that investment pathway.”
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Williams
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Williams team principal James Vowles has attributed his squad’s strong early phase of the 2025 Formula 1 year to gains it has made on “low-hanging fruit” developments for its car and factory systems.
The British team enjoyed a fruitful Bahrain pre-season test – finishing with the quickest time overall and competitive long-run averages when compared with its midfield rivals Alpine and Haas.
New recruit Carlos Sainz, who set F1 testing’s quickest time for the second year in succession after moving across from Ferrari, then finished second in the heavily disrupted opening practice for the season’s curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix on Friday.
In the same session a year ago, albeit at round three in 2024, Alex Albon crashed the FW46 so hard the car was written off for the weekend, so he was given then-team-mate Logan Sargeant’s car to complete the weekend.
When asked how positive the team was now feeling currently in the team principals’ press conference between practice sessions in Melbourne, Vowles said of Williams: “It’s a team that’s been through so much pain and when I joined a few years ago, you could feel it.
“I know I’m a man of science, but you really could feel this sort of difficult period that the team had been through, and that’s not the case now.
“But actually, one item that we didn’t talk about in there is our future. So, it’s great what’s going on now. This is what I would call the most low-hanging fruit that we’re picking up along the way.
“There are some great things that are happening back in Grove that are more coming online across the next few years, and you can see it in individuals that it’s just building this momentum and positive energy. So what you see today is just a little bit of a fallout for it.
James Vowles, Team Principal, Williams Racing
Photo by: Getty Images
“But it is an FP1. It’s great, it’s nice to see but it’s an FP1. Let’s wait until qualifying and the race and a few races in, which is also why I’ll bring everyone to our future and the destination we’re going towards.”
Much of Williams early year-on-year gains have been found by starting with the FW47 at the 800kg car weight limit from the off. Its predecessor had been so heavy to start with that it was giving away nearly 0.5s a lap this time last year, due to major inefficiencies in the team’s design and manufacturing processes.
This meant parts were produced later than expected and had to be made of heavier materials to try and shortcut the process as much as possible before lighter replacements could be built.
Albon suggested on Thursday that even around this, the FW47 was producing faster lap times than expected, although Vowles moved to play this down.
“I think where the car’s moved to, we need to reassess based on a few things, but it’s about where we expected it to be,” he said.
“But what Alex was talking about is, one of the aspects is – from a driving perspective – it gives them a lot more confidence than last year’s car.
“Formula 1’s a strange business. There are no silver bullets. There’s no one thing that just suddenly switches a car on and makes it better.”
For 2025, Williams has switched to a pushrod arrangement for its rear suspension – aligning it with engine and gearbox supplier Mercedes.
Vowles said this “helps a tiny bit” in terms of lap time gain but insisted his team’s improvements were more down to its changes elsewhere.
Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
He explained: “What we’ve done over the last few years in terms of developing our tools and systems that produce better vehicle dynamics, better aero, a better way of combining the car together is all coming together at the moment, and that’s what makes effectively the package better and better.
“It’s really not one area, though. It’s a culmination of a team that’s starting to get strength working together.”
Vowles was also asked if he felt Williams was falling behind Aston Martin in terms of facilities development, with the green team announcing on Friday that the new wind tunnel at its heavily redeveloped factory was finally in operation.
But Vowles deflected the question, saying: “We fell behind 15 years ago, so it’s not a question of now.”
“We’ve been investing,” he added. “As Aston have been investing as well, and McLaren have been investing, for the last few years. So, the point of that investment is to try and stem where we have been and create a new future.
“Wind tunnel – without question, Aston’s will be benchmark, but I’m comfortable with that.
“Where we are on wind tunnel is, let’s see where we are, but we are moving slowly up the grid, which is an indication we’re probably using our facilities fairly well. So, in that regard, I think we’re ok.
“Where we have other issues is elsewhere within the infrastructure of the organisation, but we have plans in place to rectify that across the next years.
“It’s not something that you do overnight. So, it’s different – it’s not so much falling behind, we’re already on that investment pathway.”
Photos from Australian GP – Free Practice
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Carlos Sainz Jnr has revealed his two-time World Rally champion father wanted him to join a different Formula 1 team this year.
After learning he would lose his seat at Ferrari this year, Sainz spent several months considering his options, and eventually chose to join Williams.
However his father, who scored his fourth Dakar Rally victory with Audi last year, wanted his son to seriously consider the manufacturer’s offer. Audi will rebrand Sauber’s F1 team next year.
“My father, Carlos, is still disappointed that I didn’t choose Audi’s great offer a few months ago,” the F1 driver told Blick.
“After my dream of moving to Red Bull or Mercedes fell through, I had to decide between Audi, Alpine, and Williams. After visiting the factories and having discussions, my gut feeling immediately told me – go to Williams. They want a better future. And when my heart also said yes, the decision was made.”
Sainz added: “I hope that my father, who had great times with Audi, will soon be happy that I chose Williams.”
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, Sainz said his first impression of his new team was positive.
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“As soon as I jumped into the car [last year] and started working with the people I was going to work with this year, I felt I had just joined a team full of motivation, full of people wanting to bring this team back to the front,” he said.
“The car also didn’t disappoint me. It was a good test overall in Abu Dhabi and we’ve had a strong winter of development. We’ve tried to hit the ground running this year and we’ve had a positive test.”
However Sainz said it’s too early to predict how competitive the team might be. “Are we going to be half a second, one second off the leaders? I don’t know.
“But hopefully we can show progress. I think that’s the fundamental word for us this year: keep showing progress as a team and see where we end up.”
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Williams set the fastest time of any team in pre-season testing but Alexander Albon believes the contest for quickest car in the midfield is between them and Alpine.
Albon downplayed more optimistic assessments of Williams’ performance after his new team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr set the quickest time of anyone in Bahrain two weeks ago.
“We had a good test,” Albon told the official F1 channel. “Obviously the results are as they are, but we know that’s testing.
“I’m sure we were running a little bit more ‘performant’ in terms of fuel loads and engine modes than maybe some other teams. The fight’s in the midfield for us.”
Williams endured a difficult start to last season when their car was initially over the minimum weight limit. But Albon said the team has done well with their new FW47 chassis.
“The car feels like it’s in a good place in terms of [being] on-weight, parts and everything else,” he said. “I think the team have done a fantastic job.”
The team’s target is to lead the midfield group behind likely front-runners McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes, said Albon. “We have to be realistic, I think Alpine are looking very strong as well. Maybe a little bit stronger.”
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However, with little to separate the midfield runners, Albon expects the competitive picture “will change from race to race.”
“Some tracks will benefit us, some tracks will benefit them. RB [Racing Bulls] look strong as well. Haas, you never know where they’re going to be. I’m obviously talking about the midfield battle here.
“Whatever it is, it’s very tight. I think between the spread, it’s a tenth [of a second] and a half between all of us, so it’s close.”
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Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” gets flack for creating drama — but sometimes, the drama is creating reality. As when, in episode four of the latest season (releasing March 7th), we see Carlos Sainz ghost James Vowles and Williams in June of last summer, prolonging what Vowles assumed was a done deal.
In an episode from the latest season of “Drive to Survive,” aptly titled “Carlos Signs,” cameras follow the 30-year-old Spaniard as he figures out where to go, having been ousted from his Ferrari seat by Lewis Hamilton.
“I honestly didn’t expect it. It leaves me bitter,” Sainz says of being replaced by the seven-time world champion. “I’m going to negotiate and get myself a good deal.” We see Williams’ Vowles, courting the Spaniard, tell the shows producers that Sainz could completely transform the team. “I wake up in the morning and I go to sleep at night thinking of nothing else,” Vowles says.
At the time, the paddock was abuzz with speculation that Sainz would put pen to paper in Barcelona at the Spanish Grand Prix after Vowles was spotted having a confidential meeting with Sainz’s manager, Carlos “Caco” Oñoro. “I really am confident this is a good contract and a good place. I know I’m going to get stronger over the next few races, I’m quite an honorable individual,” Vowles tells Oñoro during the closed-door conversation. “You want a relationship? I want a relationship. Let’s put a piece of paper together that covers it off.”
Carlos Sainz, James Vowles, and Alex Albon at the F1 75 event
Photo by: Getty Images
In the episode, McLaren’s Zak Brown is seen telling Lando Norris that he “busted Caco and Vowles having breakfast.” Norris reveals that his friend and former teammate is still trying to decide between Williams and Sauber (set to become Audi in 2026). “I spoke to Carlos yesterday. In the short term it’s Williams, but longer term Audi,” Norris shares. Word of the deal had even made its way to Red Bull, where communications boss Paul Smith was heard telling Christian Horner that Williams had “pretty much confirmed Sainz.”
Vowles was so confident that the contract would be signed at his hotel that night, he’s seen in the episode telling Williams board member (and Pippa Middleton’s husband) James Matthews that they are “pretty much there.” He then quips to camera, “Signing a driver has some similarities to dating. You start with texts, then [there’s] dinner, then you end up in a hotel room.”
Cut to: Williams team members closing the blinds of a hotel conference room and putting champagne on ice next to Sainz’s soon-to-be-signed contract. More than 20 minutes go by without word from his Sainz’s team. Eventually, it’s revealed that the smooth operator won’t be coming. “You were going to sign for Williams but then changed your mind. What happened there?” a producer asks Sainz, to which he responds, “Flavio [Briatore] called me.” The controversial Italian businessman returned to Formula 1 last spring as an executive advisor to Alpine, and set out to complicate Sainz’s plans.
“Carlos has got doubts. I think he’s evaluating every single team available,” Oñoro is heard telling Vowles on the phone a few weeks later at the British Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz during pre-season testing in Bahrain
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Meanwhile, we see Sainz probe Alpine driver Pierre Gasly for information about the car’s performance, while Jack Doohan jokes that the Spaniard is acting like “the paddock sl*t” for continuing to weigh up his options. Horner says that Briatore won’t give him the best deal. “Flavio will f**k him 100 per cent, and he’s expensive, which Flavio will hate,” the Red Bull boss is caught by “Drive to Survive” cameras telling colleagues.
As we know now, a few more weeks would pass before Sainz finally signed with Williams in late July, inking a two year deal.
“Congratulations,” Vowles says as his new driver walks into a hotel conference room to make the signing official.
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Posting headline lap times isn’t always a sign of true performance, and in the early 2000s, you might have even accused Williams of doing it just to keep their newly signed sponsors happy. Carlos Sainz’s fastest time on Thursday and Alex Albon’s heroics on Friday don’t necessarily mean they are now ready to challenge McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull (which, to me, looks like the competitive order at the front). However, there are genuine reasons to believe that the Grove-based team can now aim for fifth place in the constructors’ championship – which would be a massive step forward for them. — Oleg Karpov
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Loser: Sauber poised to struggle
Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber
Photo by: Clive Mason/Getty Images
According to an old paddock saying, there are no weak teams in F1. They all have highly skilled and incredibly expensive engineers working for them, people who could just as easily be developing spacecraft – but every year, one team has to finish last.
And all signs suggest that this year, it’s going to be Sauber.
As the team continues to prepare for its transformation into Audi next year, it’s only natural that their main focus isn’t on the present when the future holds such importance. What we’ve seen in Bahrain over the past three days only reinforces that impression. — O.K.
The world champions picked up where they left off in Abu Dhabi – seemingly as the class of the field. This is based on Lando Norris’s astonishing Day 2 race simulation, putting 30s into Ferrari and Mercedes, with Charles Leclerc and Andrea Kimi Antonelli respectively, on similar programmes. Oscar Piastri then seemed to have the long-run edge on George Russell, even as temperatures went up and things got harder for the drivers on the final day.
The team is trying hard to avoid complacency – Norris and Piastri want the team to improve rear grip even around what is a typical problem in Bahrain where, finally, the ‘home’ team has gone well. — Alex Kalinauckas
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Loser: The Bahrain International Circuit had a bad couple of days
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Without wishing to offend our hosts, this was a baffling and pretty bad week for the Bahrain circuit.
The power cut on day one had serious safety implications given the floodlights went out in gloomy conditions where famously headlight-less race cars were still blasting around.
There was nothing the circuit did wrong in the shambles of only two teams having wet-weather tyres to run in the rare desert rain on Day 2, but, in addition to the bus ending up in the Turns 9/10 runoff that caused a red flag as the final session started on Day 3, Motorsport.com observed a chair having been blown into another runoff earlier on the final day. This took a long time to be removed, which was concerning in the blustery conditions. An odd week, overall. —A.K.
Winner: Rookie Bearman proves to be a wise head on a young man’s body
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Flying under the radar, Oliver Bearman made more headlines for spotting what Lewis Hamilton had changed on Ferrari’s steering wheel than he did for his own performances on track. And that’s precisely what the Haas team appeared to want. Bearman spent most of his time performing race simulations, doing so cleanly and without drawing any attention to the Haas car’s pace.
Reviewing the in-car footage revealed lots of early lifting ahead of Turn 1 and no stuffing the VF-25 into corners. His stealthy approach was undone only on the last day when his engine cover partially delaminated while out on track. —Stuart Codling
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Loser: Stroll struggles before being laid low with sickness
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Lance Stroll was the driver of the least visible Aston Martin since the vanishing Vanquish in the risible James Bond movie Die Another Day – even before illness ruled him out of the final track session.
The AMR25 accomplished precious few laps over the period of the test, most accomplished by the evergreen Fernando Alonso rather than the boss’s son. It’ll be a painful debrief. — S.C.
Winner: Another vote for McLaren, but Red Bull could spring a surprise in Melbourne
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB21
Photo by: Erik Junius
In terms of race speed, McLaren was the benchmark of the week. Norris’ race sim on Thursday and Piastri’s on Friday were highly impressive, and give an indication that the team may be able to have a serious shot at the drivers’ title this year.
It is a shame that Max Verstappen did not do a complete race simulation, so Red Bull remains a bit of a question mark. And from the midfield pack it seems that Williams has progressed well, although their race pace was nowhere near as fast as their one-lap pace. — Christian Nimmervoll
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Loser: Mercedes loses its mojo
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Clive Mason/Getty Images
From what was the top four teams of 2024, Mercedes’ long run on the final day looked the least impressive. It seems the team has lost its mojo a bit after the 2021 Abu Dhabi drama, and it will need to rebuild for 2026.
I don’t see them challenging the likes of McLaren, Verstappen and probably Ferrari on a regular basis. Further back, from a German view, the testing performance of Sauber with Nico Hulkenberg has been nothing but disappointing. I assume this will increase pressure inside the Audi camp, and it will certainly not help James Key to silence his critics in Germany. —C.N.
Photos from the Bahrain Pre-Season Testing – Day 3
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Oliver Bearman
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A race engineer has one of the most important roles in any Formula 1 team. It is their job to optimise the performance of the driver-and-car combination. Throughout the race weekend, they translate the feedback coming from the driver into set-up decisions to achieve the best possible result. And, except in rare cases, they are the only ones who communicate directly with drivers via team radio.
Here’s who F1 drivers will be working with in 2025.
Norris will continue to work with Will Joseph, who has been part of the Briton’s crew since his F1 debut in 2019. The pair already have a good working relationship, which should help Norris in this year’s campaign. In 2023, McLaren experimented with alternating engineers on Norris’ side of the garage, with Jose Manuel Lopez taking on the role for some races, but ultimately Joseph remained as the English racer’s sole race engineer.
Lando Norris and Will Joseph
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Tom Stallard, who won a silver medal in rowing for Team GB at the 2008 Olympic Games, has been with McLaren for almost two decades. As a race engineer, he has worked with Jenson Button, Stoffel Vandoorne, Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo. He has partnered with Piastri since the Australian’s F1 debut two years ago and will continue in the same role in 2025.
Oscar Piastri with Tom Stallard
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Hamilton will be working with one of the most experienced race engineers in F1. Riccardo Adami joined Ferrari from Toro Rosso in 2015 and has since worked with Sebastian Vettel and Sainz. This will be Hamilton’s first change of race engineer in more than a decade, as Peter Bonnington has decided to stay at Mercedes.
Riccardo Adami, Ferrari
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
In May 2024, Bryan Bozzi replaced Xavi Marcos as Leclerc’s race engineer. While Marcos’ infamous “We are checking” replies became the source of memes about Ferrari’s alleged incompetence in race strategy, Bozzi sounds much more confident and even a little stern with Leclerc – and the Monegasque has already secured three victories alongside the Italian-Danish engineer. Bozzi joined Ferrari in 2012 and has worked in Leclerc’s crew since the driver joined the team in 2019. He was previously his performance engineer.
Bryan Bozzi, Scuderia Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
The Jason Statham of F1 will continue to guide Verstappen despite his promotion within Red Bull. It’s hard to imagine another engineer handling the Dutchman’s temperament as effectively. Lambiase started in F1 when Verstappen was still in primary school, working with Paul Di Resta and Sergio Perez at Force India. He was initially hired by Red Bull to replace Guillaume Rocquelin as Vettel’s engineer, but when the German left for Ferrari, Lambiase ended up working with Daniil Kvyat. After Kvyat was demoted to Toro Rosso in mid-2016, Lambiase was paired with then-18-year-old Verstappen. They’ve been inseparable since.
Gianpiero Lambiase, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The second Red Bull car is entrusted to Richard Wood, who, like incoming driver Lawson, is relatively new to the role. Woody, as he’s known in the team, has been with Red Bull for more than a decade, rising through the ranks before joining Perez’s side of the garage as a performance engineer four years ago. Last year he had his first stint as race engineer, replacing Hugh Bird, who missed several races through paternity leave. Christian Horner cited this as a key factor in Wood’s “natural” promotion, with Bird now concentrating on factory work in order to spend more time with his family.
Richard Wood with Sergio Perez
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Mercedes
It’s hard to imagine a better coach for the Mercedes youngster at the start of his F1 career. Peter Bonnington’s last two drivers are the most successful in F1 history. Bono joined the Brackley-based team in the Honda era, won the 2009 championship as Jenson Button’s performance engineer when the outfit was Brawn GP, and then retained the role for Michael Schumacher when it became Mercedes. He went on to take over as Hamilton’s race engineer in 2013, and together they broke many records. As well as keeping Antonelli’s tyres in good shape, Bono – now head of race engineering – will oversee both sides of the garage.
Lewis Hamilton with Peter Bonnington
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
The lead Mercedes driver (at least until Antonelli proves otherwise) will continue to work with Marcus Dudley, who has been Russell’s race engineer since 2023. Since then, he has not only helped the Briton learn the difference between sweat and rain but has also guided him to a couple of grand prix victories. Dudley has been with Mercedes for more than a decade, having started his F1 career in 2006.
Marcus Dudley, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Aston Martin
Alonso’s previous engineer, Chris Cronin, who also worked with Vettel and Perez, has been promoted within the team. Alonso will now work with Andrew Vizard, who has moved from Lance Stroll’s side of the garage. Vizard began working with Stroll at the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix and has now been assigned to Alonso. He joined Aston Martin at the start of 2023 after five years with Williams.
Andrew Vizard with Lance Stroll
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
The American engineer started his F1 career with Marussia and spent the last decade with Haas. Gary Gannon was the race engineer for Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen before working with German drivers Mick Schumacher and Nico Hulkenberg. He built a strong reputation at Haas, and his move to Aston Martin is a logical career progression.
Gary Gannon worked with Nico Hulkenberg for the last two years at Haas
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
This is John Howard’s second season as Gasly’s race engineer after the team promoted the Frenchman’s previous engineer, Karel Loos, to deputy head of track engineering. Howard has been with Alpine for 13 years, starting as a mechanical design engineer and working his way up through other roles, including engineering coordinator and senior performance engineer.
John Howard, Alpine race engineer
Photo by: Alpine
For the past few years, Josh Peckett has been Esteban Ocon’s race engineer, famously guiding him to victory in the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. The pair reunited at Alpine, having both worked at Manor in 2016 when the Frenchman made his F1 debut – although Peckett was on a different side of the garage at the time. Now their paths have parted again, with Ocon moving to Haas and Peckett remaining at Alpine, where he’ll work with Doohan.
Jack Doohan with Josh Peckett
Photo by: Alpine
Haas
Ocon’s race engineer will be under the spotlight this year as Laura Mueller is the first woman to hold such a position in F1. The 33-year-old German joined Haas in 2022 after a long career in sportscars, DTM and GT. She has been a performance engineer for the past two years and will now help Ocon settle in at Haas.
Laura Müller and Esteban Ocon
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Haas changed both race engineers over the winter. Gary Gannon and Mark Slade left the team to make way for Mueller and Ronan O’Hare. The latter will now work with Bearman. The Irish engineer has a wealth of experience, not only in F1 but also in other categories, including Formula E. In F1, before Haas, he worked for Williams and also spent a few years at Brackley.
Oliver Bearman with Ronan O’Hare
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Ernesto Desiderio is Tsunoda’s second race engineer in F1. The Japanese started his career with Mattia Spini, but the latter was promoted within the team in the middle of last year, so Yuki has been working with Desiderio since the Monza race. Ernesto joined the team in 2023 from Williams. He previously worked at Haas.
Yuki Tsunoda with race engineer Ernesto Desiderio
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The French rookie will work alongside compatriot Pierre Hamelin, who has been one of the Faenza-based team’s race engineers since 2016. He was promoted to the role ahead of that year’s Spanish Grand Prix and has since worked with a number of drivers including Kvyat, Brendon Hartley, Gasly, Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo and most recently Lawson.
Pierre Hamelin has been working with several drivers, including Daniel Ricciardo
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Williams
Having started his career as a mechanic in the European Le Mans Series and British Touring Car Championship, James Urwin joined Williams in 2014 and has since worked as a race engineer for Stroll and Russell. The coming season will be his fourth with Albon.
Alex Albon, Williams Racing, with his engineer James Urwin on the grid
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Gaetan Jego joined Williams in 2020, having previously spent more than a decade with the ART Grand Prix team. He moved to F1 from the role of LMP1 technical director when the outfit supported SMP Racing in sportscars, working with Nicholas Latifi, Logan Sargeant and Franco Colapinto at the end of last year. Now he’s tasked with helping four-time race winner Sainz.
Gaetan Jego, Williams Racing Race Engineer
Photo by: Williams
Steven Petrik joined Sauber last year from Ferrari. He spent eight years in Maranello as a performance engineer, most recently on Sainz’s side of the garage. After moving to Sauber, he replaced Valtteri Bottas’ engineer Alex Chan and stayed in that role until the end of the season.
Steven Petrik
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Jose Manuel Lopez joined Sauber from McLaren over the winter. For the majority of his time at Woking, which began in 2020, he was Norris’ performance engineer, and on a number of occasions in 2023 he even acted as his race engineer, deputising for Will Joseph, particularly while the Briton was on paternity leave.
Last year, however, the Spaniard moved to McLaren’s driver development department and it was in this role that he had the opportunity to oversee Bortoleto’s performance in Formula 2 – so although the Brazilian is a rookie in F1, he’s already had experience of working with his new race engineer. Prior to McLaren, Lopez spent several years at Haas, where he was one of the team’s first employees.
Jose Manuel Lopez with Lando Norris
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
In this article
Oleg Karpov
Formula 1
Ferrari
Red Bull Racing
Mercedes
Sauber
McLaren
Racing Bulls
Williams
Aston Martin Racing
Haas F1 Team
Alpine
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A race engineer has one of the most important roles in any Formula 1 team. It is their job to optimise the performance of the driver-and-car combination. Throughout the race weekend, they translate the feedback coming from the driver into set-up decisions to achieve the best possible result. And, except in rare cases, they are the only ones who communicate directly with drivers via team radio.
Here’s who F1 drivers will be working with in 2025.
Norris will continue to work with Will Joseph, who has been part of the Briton’s crew since his F1 debut in 2019. The pair already have a good working relationship, which should help Norris in this year’s campaign. In 2023, McLaren experimented with alternating engineers on Norris’ side of the garage, with Jose Manuel Lopez taking on the role for some races, but ultimately Joseph remained as the English racer’s sole race engineer.
Lando Norris and Will Joseph
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Tom Stallard, who won a silver medal in rowing for Team GB at the 2008 Olympic Games, has been with McLaren for almost two decades. As a race engineer, he has worked with Jenson Button, Stoffel Vandoorne, Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo. He has partnered with Piastri since the Australian’s F1 debut two years ago and will continue in the same role in 2025.
Oscar Piastri with Tom Stallard
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Hamilton will be working with one of the most experienced race engineers in F1. Riccardo Adami joined Ferrari from Toro Rosso in 2015 and has since worked with Sebastian Vettel and Sainz. This will be Hamilton’s first change of race engineer in more than a decade, as Peter Bonnington has decided to stay at Mercedes.
Riccardo Adami, Ferrari
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
In May 2024, Bryan Bozzi replaced Xavi Marcos as Leclerc’s race engineer. While Marcos’ infamous “We are checking” replies became the source of memes about Ferrari’s alleged incompetence in race strategy, Bozzi sounds much more confident and even a little stern with Leclerc – and the Monegasque has already secured three victories alongside the Italian-Danish engineer. Bozzi joined Ferrari in 2012 and has worked in Leclerc’s crew since the driver joined the team in 2019. He was previously his performance engineer.
Bryan Bozzi, Scuderia Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
The Jason Statham of F1 will continue to guide Verstappen despite his promotion within Red Bull. It’s hard to imagine another engineer handling the Dutchman’s temperament as effectively. Gianpiero Lambiase started in F1 when Verstappen was still in primary school, working with Paul Di Resta and Sergio Perez at Force India. He was initially hired by Red Bull to replace Guillaume Rocquelin as Vettel’s engineer, but when the German left for Ferrari, Lambiase ended up working with Daniil Kvyat. After Kvyat was demoted to Toro Rosso in mid-2016, Lambiase was paired with then-18-year-old Verstappen. They’ve been inseparable since.
Gianpiero Lambiase, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The second Red Bull car is entrusted to Richard Wood, who, like incoming driver Lawson, is relatively new to the role. Woody, as he’s known in the team, has been with Red Bull for more than a decade, rising through the ranks before joining Perez’s side of the garage as a performance engineer four years ago. Last year he had his first stint as race engineer, replacing Hugh Bird, who missed several races through paternity leave. Christian Horner cited this as a key factor in Wood’s “natural” promotion, with Bird now concentrating on factory work in order to spend more time with his family.
Richard Wood with Sergio Perez
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Mercedes
It’s hard to imagine a better coach for the Mercedes youngster at the start of his F1 career. Peter Bonnington’s last two drivers are the most successful in F1 history. Bono joined the Brackley-based team in the Honda era, won the 2009 championship as Jenson Button’s performance engineer when the outfit was Brawn GP, and then retained the role for Michael Schumacher when it became Mercedes. He went on to take over as Hamilton’s race engineer in 2013, and together they broke many records. As well as keeping Antonelli’s tyres in good shape, Bono – now head of race engineering – will oversee both sides of the garage.
Lewis Hamilton with Peter Bonnington
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
The lead Mercedes driver will continue to work with Marcus Dudley, who has been Russell’s race engineer since 2023. Since then, he has not only helped the Briton learn the difference between sweat and rain but has also guided him to a couple of grand prix victories. Dudley has been with Mercedes for more than a decade, having started his F1 career in 2006.
Marcus Dudley, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Aston Martin
Alonso’s previous engineer, Chris Cronin, who also worked with Vettel and Perez, has been promoted within the team. Alonso will now work with Andrew Vizard, who has moved from Lance Stroll’s side of the garage. Vizard began working with Stroll at the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix and has now been assigned to Alonso. He joined Aston Martin at the start of 2023 after five years with Williams.
Andrew Vizard with Lance Stroll
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
The American engineer started his F1 career with Marussia and spent the last decade with Haas. Gary Gannon was the race engineer for Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen before working with German drivers Mick Schumacher and Nico Hulkenberg. He built a strong reputation at Haas, and his move to Aston Martin is a logical career progression.
Gary Gannon worked with Nico Hulkenberg for the last two years at Haas
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
This is John Howard’s second season as Gasly’s race engineer after the team promoted the Frenchman’s previous engineer, Karel Loos, to deputy head of track engineering. Howard has been with Alpine for 13 years, starting as a mechanical design engineer and working his way up through other roles, including engineering coordinator and senior performance engineer.
John Howard, Alpine race engineer
Photo by: Alpine
For the past few years, Josh Peckett has been Esteban Ocon’s race engineer, famously guiding him to victory in the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. The pair reunited at Alpine, having both worked at Manor in 2016 when the Frenchman made his F1 debut – although Peckett was on a different side of the garage at the time. Now their paths have parted again, with Ocon moving to Haas and Peckett remaining at Alpine, where he’ll work with Jack Doohan.
Jack Doohan with Josh Peckett
Photo by: Alpine
Haas
Ocon’s race engineer will be under the spotlight this year as Laura Mueller is the first woman to hold such a position in F1. The 33-year-old German joined Haas in 2022 after a career in sportscars, DTM and GT. She has been a performance engineer for the past two years and will now help Ocon settle in at Haas.
Laura Müller and Esteban Ocon
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Haas changed both race engineers over the winter. Gary Gannon and Mark Slade left the team to make way for Mueller and Ronan O’Hare. The latter will now work with Bearman. The Irish engineer has a wealth of experience, not only in F1 but also in other categories, including Formula E. In F1, before Haas, he worked for Williams and also spent a few years at Brackley.
Oliver Bearman with Ronan O’Hare
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Ernesto Desiderio is Tsunoda’s second race engineer in F1. The Japanese started his career with Mattia Spini, but the latter was promoted within the team in the middle of last year, so Yuki has been working with Desiderio since the Monza race. Ernesto joined the team in 2023 from Williams. He previously worked at Haas.
Yuki Tsunoda with race engineer Ernesto Desiderio
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
The French rookie will work alongside compatriot Pierre Hamelin, who has been one of the Faenza-based team’s race engineers since 2016. He was promoted to the role ahead of that year’s Spanish Grand Prix and has since worked with a number of drivers including Kvyat, Brendon Hartley, Gasly, Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo and most recently Lawson.
Pierre Hamelin has been working with several drivers, including Daniel Ricciardo
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Williams
Having started his career as a mechanic in the European Le Mans Series and British Touring Car Championship, James Urwin joined Williams in 2014 and has since worked as a race engineer for Stroll and Russell. The coming season will be his fourth with Albon.
Alex Albon, Williams Racing, with his engineer James Urwin on the grid
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Gaetan Jego joined Williams in 2020, having previously spent more than a decade with the ART Grand Prix team. He moved to F1 from the role of LMP1 technical director when the outfit supported SMP Racing in sportscars, working with Nicholas Latifi, Logan Sargeant and Franco Colapinto at the end of last year. Now he’s tasked with helping four-time race winner Sainz.
Gaetan Jego, Williams Racing Race Engineer
Photo by: Williams
Steven Petrik joined Sauber last year from Ferrari. He spent eight years in Maranello as a performance engineer, most recently on Sainz’s side of the garage. After moving to Sauber, he replaced Valtteri Bottas’ engineer Alex Chan and stayed in that role until the end of the season.
Steven Petrik
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Jose Manuel Lopez joined Sauber from McLaren over the winter. For the majority of his time at Woking, which began in 2020, he was Norris’ performance engineer, and on a number of occasions in 2023 he even acted as his race engineer, deputising for Will Joseph, particularly while the Briton was on paternity leave.
Last year, however, he moved to McLaren’s driver development department and it was in this role that he had the opportunity to oversee Bortoleto’s performance in Formula 2 – so although the Brazilian is a rookie in F1, he’s already had experience of working with his new race engineer. Prior to McLaren, Lopez spent several years at Haas, where he was one of the team’s first employees.
Jose Manuel Lopez with Lando Norris
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
In this article
Oleg Karpov
Formula 1
Ferrari
Red Bull Racing
RB
McLaren
Williams
Sauber
Aston Martin Racing
Mercedes
Haas F1 Team
Alpine
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The numerous crashes endured by Williams in the 2024 Formula 1 season brought about “a small amount of pain” but will have no “systemic effect” on the outfit going forward, team boss James Vowles has said.
The Grove-based squad suffered a spate of accidents throughout the latest campaign involving all three of its drivers – Alex Albon, Logan Sargeant and the American’s late-season replacement Franco Colapinto.
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Williams decided to withdraw Sargeant from the Australian Grand Prix, handing his car to Albon after the latter terminally damaged his own in an FP1 off. Shunts became a regular occurrence over the season, to the extent that Colapinto had to complete the year with older-specification parts after the Argentine crashed out of the Las Vegas qualifying session.
In the current budget cap era, the accidents cost the team millions of euro and forced it to spend more resources on producing 2024 parts. However, as Williams launched its new FW47 challenger for 2025, Vowles claimed the pain from those incidents was “not noticeable so far”.
“There will be a small amount of pain, but that is just the facts behind it – you cannot have over 20 crashes in 24 races, you cannot have that without some sort of damage felt,” the Briton admitted. “The best way I can summarise it is I don’t think we’ll have a systemic effect on how we’re adjusting to it.”
James Vowles, Team Principal, Williams Racing
Photo by: Getty Images
Albon concurred: “Honestly, I wouldn’t say last year’s [crashes] played an impact in the development of this year’s car.”
Having come ninth last season, Williams is openly treating 2025 as a transitional year anyway, aiming at making the most of F1’s new technical regulations from 2026 onwards.
“We’re still focused very much on ‘26,” Albon said. “We changed the car a lot from ’23 to ’24, and I think you saw the changes – it took a toll.
“Not just in terms of being late for car building and testing last year, but also the balance of the car changed quite drastically.
“A lot of things improved; we figured there were some weaknesses that we had. This year, now that we understand the changes we made between ’23 and ’24, how do we apply that to this year, and is the direction that we’re now going in finally the right direction for ’26?”
Alex Albon, Williams FW47
Photo by: Williams
As far as short-term goals are concerned, there is optimism in the Williams camp that the new FW47 represents a decent step forward, but Albon is wary that it may not necessarily translate into a move up the pecking order in 2025.
“What I’ve realised year to year, especially with the regulation changes, is that each team, especially the midfield teams, they’re improving so much,” the Thai-Briton said. “You think you’ve done a really good step – and you have – but all the midfield teams have done it as well, if not even more.
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“The one thing that you can tell from Bahrain testing is just immediately, I think within the first 15-20 laps of driving, the car’s feeling going in the right direction or not.”
Pre-season testing will get under way at Sakhir on 26 February with the only three days of official running before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, which will deliver a first verdict on whether Williams has made some hoped-for progress.
Additional reporting by Alex Kalinauckas and Mark Mann-Bryans
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Ben Vinel
Formula 1
Williams
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