Williams have a long-term focus on getting back to the top in Formula 1 and will not be distracted by what might be achieved this season, says team boss James Vowles.
The former champions, who last won a title in 1997, have made a strong start to the campaign and are sixth overall, one point behind Haas after four of 24 races.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz has joined from Ferrari alongside Thai teammate Alex Albon and Williams have scored more points already this season than in all of 2024, but wind tunnel work is now all about next year.
Vowles told reporters at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that the strategy was fully backed by the team’s owners, even if it cost championship points and affected prize money payouts in the short term.
“If you want to win there is only one way to win, and you can’t get caught in the now,” he said.
“We were in a mess because we were short-termist all the way through the last 20 years. Some of it financially driven, some of it driven by other elements.
“It’s hard for fans to understand why we’re doing this but our targets are actually around introduction of infrastructure, technology systems … how long it takes to build a front wing, how expensive it is.
“If I said to you our goal this year is P8 (eighth). Who cares? We’ll probably beat that but that’s a moment in time. What we’re defining here is a pathway that leads us back to winning.”
Vowles said Williams now had some solid foundations in place for the future, something they had shown last year despite ending up ninth overall.
He recognised the current car had some characteristics, such as balance, that needed work.
“I think there are some elements that we can bring in line this year, some of it is a different direction that we need to take for the future,” he added.
“My feeling is we will be able to scratch it but not fix it (this year). I think we have a series of sticking plasters we can put on it.”
