Former Mercedes head of strategy Vowles took control of the Grove outfit in February as the replacement for ex-Volkswagen motorsport boss Jost Capito, who left after two years.
He is attempting to secure voting support for upcoming F1 Commission meetings in order to grant Williams a greater allowance within the spending restrictions for capital expenditure. This would enable them to enhance their factory facilities.
Vowles cautions that even if the new construction projects were to commence right away, it would still require a minimum of three years for the team to experience the positive impact on the track.
Motorsport.com inquired about the feasible duration for an F1 team to regain their competitive position. Vowles responded by stating that currently, numerous essential facilities are lacking. Even if he were to start construction tomorrow, it would take approximately 36 months for the majority of the significant infrastructure to be established.
“That’s different to a lot of other teams that already have that. And that’s not an abnormal period of time. The really quick stuff would be 24 months.
“That’s just getting the infrastructure in place. That’s not changing behaviours, cultures, systems, integrating proper [Enterprise Resource Planning] into our entire world.
“That’s just buildings and infrastructure that’s not there.
At the very least, you need to establish the necessary infrastructure and dedicate a significant amount of time to learn and catch up with competitors who have already been utilizing it for 15 years.
The choice of a five-year timeframe is based on logical considerations. It varies depending on your location, the tasks you need to accomplish, and the necessary preparations you have to make.
Logan Sargeant, Williams W45
Photo by: Erik Junius
There have been discussions about Williams experiencing issues related to their culture in recent times, while Vowles’ former company Mercedes follows a philosophy of not assigning blame.
As such, Vowles is expected to apply a similar ethos to Williams. Although he expects this process to add to the recovery timelines.
Vowles continued: “Culture, which I’m really strong on, doesn’t appear overnight.
Based on my personal experience, it typically takes around three years to successfully transform the culture of an organization, considering a group of approximately 800 individuals.
“I have fabricated that number, but I have experienced this situation numerous times in the sport and observed it.”
“I believe that [Infrastructure and culture] will begin to yield significant performance improvements within a span of three years.”
“I cannot reword”
“It’s available but the cost cap is hindering us. We are certainly behind them on the leading edge.
“I believe it is important for the sport to acknowledge that, on any given Sunday, anyone should have the opportunity to emerge victorious.”
“We began the process of transitioning towards it… However, I believe discussing a span of five years is reasonable.”
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