{"id":580799,"date":"2026-04-04T02:16:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T02:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/580799\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T02:16:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T02:16:08","slug":"williams-boss-james-vowles-hopeful-that-painful-japanese-grand-prix-weekend-will-be-a-line-in-the-sand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/580799\/","title":{"rendered":"Williams boss James Vowles hopeful that &#8216;painful&#8217; Japanese Grand Prix weekend will be a &#8216;line in the sand&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">Williams boss James Vowles is hopeful that the team&#8217;s &#8220;painful&#8221; Japanese Grand Prix will act as a &#8220;line in the sand&#8221;, with the Grove-based outfit looking to maximise the break before Miami to deliver performance improvements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">With <a class=\"text-brand-hot-red underline decoration-1 hover:decoration-[3px]\" data-f1rd-a7s-click=\"rich_text_atom_click\" data-f1rd-a7s-context=\"eyJhY3Rpb25UeXBlIjoiY2FybG9zX3NhaW56X2xpbmtfY2xpY2tlZCIsImNsaWNrVGV4dCI6dHJ1ZSwicGF0aCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZvcm11bGExLmNvbS9lbi9kcml2ZXJzL2Nhcmxvcy1zYWlueiIsInBhdGhUeXBlIjoiaW50ZXJuYWwifQ==\" href=\"https:\/\/www.formula1.com\/en\/drivers\/carlos-sainz\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Carlos Sainz<\/a> delivering a 15th-placed finish in Suzuka \u2013 a result the Spaniard was &#8220;satisfied&#8221; with considering the relative performance of the car \u2013 and <a class=\"text-brand-hot-red underline decoration-1 hover:decoration-[3px]\" data-f1rd-a7s-click=\"rich_text_atom_click\" data-f1rd-a7s-context=\"eyJhY3Rpb25UeXBlIjoiYWxleF9hbGJvbl9saW5rX2NsaWNrZWQiLCJjbGlja1RleHQiOnRydWUsInBhdGgiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5mb3JtdWxhMS5jb20vZW4vZHJpdmVycy9hbGV4YW5kZXItYWxib24iLCJwYXRoVHlwZSI6ImludGVybmFsIn0=\" href=\"https:\/\/www.formula1.com\/en\/drivers\/alexander-albon\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alex Albon<\/a> coming home in 20th having completed a testing programme via six trips to the pit lane, <a class=\"text-brand-hot-red underline decoration-1 hover:decoration-[3px]\" data-f1rd-a7s-click=\"rich_text_atom_click\" data-f1rd-a7s-context=\"eyJhY3Rpb25UeXBlIjoid2lsbGlhbXMnX2xpbmtfY2xpY2tlZCIsImNsaWNrVGV4dCI6dHJ1ZSwicGF0aCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmZvcm11bGExLmNvbS9lbi90ZWFtcy93aWxsaWFtcyIsInBhdGhUeXBlIjoiaW50ZXJuYWwifQ==\" href=\"https:\/\/www.formula1.com\/en\/teams\/williams\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Williams&#8217;<\/a> start to the 2026 season has been a challenge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">Last year&#8217;s fifth-placed finish in the Teams&#8217; Championship was a sign of the progress being made, but the squad faced a tough pre-season as they missed the Barcelona Shakedown in January <a class=\"text-brand-hot-red underline decoration-1 hover:decoration-[3px]\" data-f1rd-a7s-click=\"rich_text_atom_click\" data-f1rd-a7s-context=\"eyJhY3Rpb25UeXBlIjoiZHVlX3RvX+KAnGRlbGF5c19pbl90aGVfZnc0OF9wcm9ncmFtbWXigJ1fbGlua19jbGlja2VkIiwiY2xpY2tUZXh0Ijp0cnVlLCJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZm9ybXVsYTEuY29tL2VuL2xhdGVzdC9hcnRpY2xlL3dpbGxpYW1zLWFubm91bmNlLXRoZXktd2lsbC1ub3QtdGFrZS1wYXJ0LWluLWJhcmNlbG9uYS1zaGFrZWRvd24uMklRNmM3UnJnMXBJNVExSFhSRXl6ViIsInBhdGhUeXBlIjoiaW50ZXJuYWwifQ==\" href=\"https:\/\/www.formula1.com\/en\/latest\/article\/williams-announce-they-will-not-take-part-in-barcelona-shakedown.2IQ6c7Rrg1pI5Q1HXREyzV\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">due to \u201cdelays in the FW48 programme\u201d<\/a>, though they later returned to action in time for both of February\u2019s pre-season tests in Bahrain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">However, the team have openly admitted their car is overweight and that is severely hampering  performance, though Sainz did score two points in the Chinese Grand Prix.<\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">Now Williams are looking to make the most of the break in racing, <a class=\"text-brand-hot-red underline decoration-1 hover:decoration-[3px]\" data-f1rd-a7s-click=\"rich_text_atom_click\" data-f1rd-a7s-context=\"eyJhY3Rpb25UeXBlIjoiZHVlX3RvX3RoZV9iYWhyYWluX2FuZF9zYXVkaV9hcmFiaWFuX2dyYW5kc19wcml4X25vdF90YWtpbmdfcGxhY2VfbGlua19jbGlja2VkIiwiY2xpY2tUZXh0Ijp0cnVlLCJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZm9ybXVsYTEuY29tL2VuL2xhdGVzdC9hcnRpY2xlL2JhaHJhaW4tYW5kLXNhdWRpLWFyYWJpYW4tZ3JhbmRzLXByaXgtd2lsbC1ub3QtdGFrZS1wbGFjZS1pbi1hcHJpbC4xaG5xbGxWRzg1UlN0OHBiRmM1SXZ4IiwicGF0aFR5cGUiOiJpbnRlcm5hbCJ9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.formula1.com\/en\/latest\/article\/bahrain-and-saudi-arabian-grands-prix-will-not-take-place-in-april.1hnqllVG85RSt8pbFc5Ivx\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">due to the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix not taking place<\/a> in April, to come back stronger ahead of the Miami Grand Prix weekend (May 1-3) as they try to unlock performance and get the most from the Mercedes power unit they have their disposal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">\u201cWe need to maximise these next five weeks in front of us,&#8221; said Vowles after the Grand Prix in Suzuka.<\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">&#8220;It was a painful day today, and I want to make it a line in the sand and make sure we add performance every race going forward this year and fight back towards a point-scoring position every weekend.<\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">\u201cWell done to Carlos, it was a faultless drive and he did everything he could but that\u2019s just where the car is today. And well done to Alex, he drove perfectly and then completed a test programme that will be invaluable for us for future learning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">\u201cThese next five weeks will be some of the hardest for us, purposefully so, as we dig deep and make sure that we come back with a car in Miami that is worthy of scoring points.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">While the FW48&#8217;s performance levels are not where the team or drivers want them to be, Sainz did take some pride in certain aspects of Sunday&#8217;s Grand Prix as he had a clean race on his way to an eventual P15 finish.<\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">\u201cWe got absolutely everything we could out of the car in the race today,&#8221; Sainz said afterwards. &#8220;Also, another solid start and good pit stop timing meant we did our best possible race, so I\u2019m satisfied with that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">\u201cThe team and I are working well to understand this car and these regulations, and I feel like we\u2019re going into this early break ready to make some real progress on the car&#8217;s performance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">\u201cWe have to make sure we maximise these five weeks and head into Miami in a better position for the season ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">For Albon, who was last of the runners in Japan due to embarking on a test programme to gather much needed data, he emphasised the importance of getting more out of the car sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"typography-module_body-s-regular__ul7F5 typography-module_md_body-m-regular__d9VRg typography-module_lg_body-l-regular__dPa5z\">\u201cRealistically we are achieving what we can achieve and executing our races as best as we can,&#8221; the Thai driver said. &#8220;But we just need to get on top of some issues and get a bit more speed in the car.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Williams boss James Vowles is hopeful that the team&#8217;s &#8220;painful&#8221; Japanese Grand Prix will act as a &#8220;line&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580800,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-580799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}