What Williams’s new boss must do to change the fortunes of F1’s backmarker

James Vowles arrives from Mercedes knowing how to win, but what does he need to do to revitalise the once-great team?

For this chapter of the Williams story, perhaps it is indeed fair to judge a book by its cover. After all, the livery that the FW45 will wear in 2023 aptly reflects the current limbo in which this historic grand prix team now finds itself.

The latest paint job is little more than a subtle evolution of what came before, when the cars were spotted racing at the back of the pack. Tweaks are minor rather than sweeping, in the same way that the Grove headquarters isn’t set for a major infrastructure overhaul. It won’t christen a new windtunnel and simulator like fellow heritage squad McLaren is busy building as a silver bullet to unlock performance.

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Author Matt Kew

Matt Kew is Autosport’s F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 following stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.

Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better-suited to increased field work.

Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.

His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham’s banked oval.

Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.

He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing are undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.