Williams follows up 2025 resurgence with a rebrand steeped in history
- Maham Mir
- 26 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Written by Maham Mir, Edited by Meghana Sree
Williams have crossed the 100-point mark for the first time since 2016, a feat that perhaps would have been thought almost impossible only a few years ago.
Achieving their first full-race podium since Lance Stroll in 2017 with Carlos Sainz in Baku, the team have almost sealed the best of the rest label for the 2025 season. However, this turnaround in performance has not occurred overnight but instead is the culmination of years of hard work.
It cannot be doubted that a large part of this turnaround must be attributed to James Vowles and his influence on the team mindset. After joining the team at the beginning of the 2023 season, the influence that Vowles has had on the team cannot be overstated.
In a podcast interview early on into his tenure as Team Principal, Vowles stated: “Break everything. This is an opportunity you’ll never have in your lifetime.”
The fundamental shift in perspective that he has brought with him has only been further emphasised by his driver choices of Alex Albon paired with Sainz.
As a unit, Vowles and his drivers have reiterated that they’re looking at this team with the view that it is a long-term development project. Looking forward to 2026, the team have devoted a majority of their time and resources to attacking the next set of regulations in the hopes that it will get them closer to the front of the grid.
Fighting for championships, as they once did in the 1980s and 1990s, is the long-term goal for the team.
So far in 2025, Albon has enjoyed one of his most successful seasons in the sport with his highest points tally since 2020.
As for Sainz, though the early part of his time at the team was difficult and disappointing, he has managed to recover to help his teammate beat out the other midfield teams.
Combined, the drivers have enjoyed personal highlights such as Baku 2025 and Mexico City 2025 for Sainz and an impressive eighth place in the World Drivers’ Championship for Albon.
This upturn in performance raises the question: what does this revival mean in the context of the team’s history?
Starting out as a dream project by a man who simply loved motorsports so much that he wanted to be a part of that world, Frank Williams, the Williams team were unlike the other teams on the grid at the time as it was a true family endeavour. The team’s first race was the 1977 Spanish Grand Prix.
Within two years of arriving on the grid, Williams achieved their first race win at the 1979 British Grand Prix with Clay Regazzoni. Then with Jacques Villaneuve’s win at the 1997 British Grand Prix, Williams became only the fifth team in F1 history to win more than 100 races.
They further cemented themselves in the history books by winning nine Constructors’ world titles which was a record until Ferrari won their 10th title in 2000.
Some of the most historical and notable names within the sport including Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Keke Rosberg drove for Williams.
Out of this list, Mansell, Prost and Rosberg won titles with the team. After the highs of multiple championships and periods of domination with some of the biggest names in motorsports driving their cars, the team’s lows arrived quickly and soon took over causing them to fall further behind the rest of the grid.
Moving into more recent history, the story of the Williams team soon became a preoccupation of trying to keep the team afloat with sporadic successes here and there. More recent names to race for the team include George Russell, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas.
As one of the smallest teams on the grid, the financial complications of the COVID-19 pandemic especially hurt Williams and affected their ability to be competitive, as they slowly slid to the back of the grid.
The solution to help alleviate the financial stresses that come out of running a modern day F1 team was to introduce outside investment which had existed at the team in one form or another since 2014. Even with external financial involvement in the team, the Williams family remained involved in the team through Claire Williams until her departure from the team in 2020. Coinciding with the departure of Claire Williams was the purchase of the team by Dorilton Capital who are the current owners of the team.
While the line-up of Albon and Sainz has brought success to the team so far, driver choices have also been unstable for Vowles during his time as Team Principal. After Logan Sargeant’s tumultuous time in F1, he was replaced by Franco Colapinto who was replaced by Sainz coming into the 2025 season.
Looking forward to 2026, Williams’ path back to the top will be led by a fresh rebrand.
With the recent announcement that the team’s new branding is set to be launched in next year as an homage to the team’s history but retaining the modern context, Vowels is one step closer to achieving his dream of bringing the team back to the front.
Evolving from Williams Racing to Williams F1 Team, the new image reflects the bringing together of the team’s illustrious history and the collective ambition felt for the team’s future.
Discussing the rebranding and what it is meant to symbolise, Vowles stated: “This evolved team identity reflects who we are, where we are going, and reintroduces our title-winning legacy to a growing F1 audience that was not following the sport when we were last dominant.”
As a team started by one man with a love for motorsport and a singular vision — to win and be the best in the world — Williams occupies a special place in the world of F1.
With their revival under the stewardship of Vowles and driven by Albon and Sainz, the team will be hoping that these new regulations will see them reaching new heights.
