Williams F1’s New Direction Impresses Button with Team Spirit

Jenson Button commends Williams F1’s leadership under James Vowles, highlighting the return of a family-like atmosphere reminiscent of his debut season.

Jenson Button appreciates the progress Williams F1 has made since James Vowles took over as team principal. The 2009 world champion, who returned to the team where he started his Formula 1 career as an ambassador, now sees the positive impact of the new leadership at Grove.

“The atmosphere is the same as in 2000,” Button told Crash. “It’s fun, exciting, obviously serious when it comes to racing, but it’s a nice family atmosphere.”

“When I joined the team as an ambassador, the atmosphere wasn’t quite the same. There were people who had been there for 20, even 30 years, and then there was an influx of new talent into the team.”

“The right leadership was needed to bring everyone together. Now, I think people believe more in the direction the team is heading, which is very important when you’re trying to work together to build the future.”

Button also praised the work of Williams drivers Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto during the end of the 2024 season, noting their promising performances: “Alex and Franco delivered good results with Williams. It’s really refreshing to see a driver get in the car and be competitive right from the start.”

“I think we all have a lot of respect for Alex, for his abilities and what he is capable of achieving in this sport. For someone so young, it’s very impressive to be able to push him to his limits.”

“You learn from your teammates, whether they’re young or old, inexperienced or experienced, you always learn from the data. It’s true that it helps the team progress if it has two competitive drivers who can learn from each other and move the team forward.”

“In terms of points, the team hasn’t scored as many this season as it would have hoped, but it found its rhythm in the latter part of the season, which is great, and that bodes well for the 2025 season.”