Vowles Laments €3M Damage After Consecutive Williams Crashes

Williams F1 faces mounting challenges after €3 million in damages from repeated crashes leave the team in financial strain.

James Vowles, the head of Williams F1, estimated that recent crashes have cost his team several million dollars in repairs, at least three.

To this must now be added Franco Colapinto’s crash in qualifying just minutes ago, where he destroyed an entire FW46 in Q2 after clipping the inside of a corner with a wall, which propelled him into the opposite barrier.

“No comment!” Vowles exclaimed after this latest incident today.

The Grove-based team has faced a string of consecutive accidents, with five major crashes involving drivers Alex Albon and Colapinto over the last two races in Mexico and Brazil.

Albon was unable to compete in the São Paulo Grand Prix after a massive crash in qualifying that left his car beyond repair in time. His teammate also suffered severe crashes during both qualifying and the main race.

The damage has left Williams struggling to source spare parts ahead of the final three races of the season, and Vowles has now revealed the financial strain on the team, not including today’s incident.

“We’re talking millions of euros – less than 10 but well over three. These are significant figures when we calculate where we stand currently,” Vowles told the media before today’s Q2 crash.

“The damage sustained in Mexico and Brazil – I’ve never seen anything like it in 25 years of working in the sport. To have five major accidents in two races… It’s hard to assign blame or anything else; it’s just motorsport. But five…”

“That’s five front wings, five floors, five rear wings, three gearboxes, two engines, two chassis. An incredible amount.”

Vowles praised the “gargantuan” effort of his team throughout the break between Mexico and Las Vegas to ensure both Williams cars were repaired to the same specifications.

“To turn things around and have two fully updated cars here in Las Vegas, built to the correct specifications—even though we don’t have a significant number of spare parts—is not just a huge effort, it’s a gargantuan one from the entire team coming together.”

“What makes me proud is that, in a moment when you’re truly down, on your knees, and hit in the gut, the team stood up stronger than before, determined to come here and prove to the world that we are still here, fighting for everything we can until the end of the championship.”

“It was a proud moment to lead the team through that.”

Vowles is unsure whether Colapinto will be able to start tomorrow.

“It seems very difficult to me; the team will have to manage it again. It’s complicated…”