The Williams 2026 project is a construction site. A deep rebuild is underway at Grove—painful, complex, and in many ways necessary. James Vowles knows this well and makes no attempt to hide it. Since taking charge of the British team, the team principal has launched a restructuring process that goes far beyond hiring a few engineers or updating technical components. It is about dismantling and rebuilding an organisation that has gradually lost not only competitiveness, but also culture, structure, and identity.
The latest piece in this reconstruction puzzle is Dan Milner. The British engineer joins from Mercedes, where he spent 14 years in increasingly senior roles: head of R&D engineering, power unit-to-chassis integration lead, and transmission department head. He is a complete technical profile, with experience that also traces back to the Honda and Brawn GP eras, before Mercedes became the dominant force of the hybrid era.
At Grove, he will take on the role of vehicle technology engineering director, responsible for overseeing car development programmes under technical director Matt Harman and executive technical director Pat Fry.
His arrival is not an isolated event. It is part of a broader plan personally led by James Vowles, whose stated goal is to bring order, expertise, and modern processes to an area—production and organisation—that has been Williams’ Achilles’ heel for years, as reported by SoyMotor.
Williams – the roots of a long-standing problem
To understand where Williams is going, it is first necessary to understand where it comes from. And the history is far from encouraging.
The team’s production department has been one of its weakest areas for two decades. The clearest symbol came in 2019, when Williams failed to arrive on time for pre-season testing in Barcelona. An embarrassing episode that was only the visible tip of a much deeper structural issue. Paddy Lowe—one of the architects of Mercedes’ dominance in the hybrid era—left the team in June of that year, unable to reverse a decline rooted in deeper organisational problems.
Even Jost Capito, who had previously built one of the most dominant eras in WRC history with Volkswagen, was unable to deliver the necessary transformation. And when James Vowles arrived, he was confronted with a reality he described with surprise: a team managing its entire car production process through a single Excel spreadsheet containing around 20,000 cells. An almost unbelievable discovery for a team that once stood at the very top of Formula 1 technology.
The lowest sporting point came in Australia, when Logan Sargeant had to hand over his car because the team did not have a spare chassis available. An episode that more than any analysis captures the state of the organisation at the time.
As Paddy Lowe explained in a well-known interview on the Beyond The Grid podcast, Williams had long been relying on “a set of legacy advantages that gradually eroded over time.” Tradition, reputation, and history are valuable assets, but they cannot replace investment, processes, and correct decision-making. “When an organisation starts to lose its way,” he added, “it does not produce bad cars immediately.” The decline is slow and almost invisible—until it is too late.
2026 appears to be that turning point. The current season has been extremely difficult: the two points scored by Carlos Sainz in China were treated almost like a miracle. The team missed the early Barcelona tests, sits at the back of the midfield, and has already chosen to freeze development of the FW47 to fully focus on the 2026 project. A bold decision, but one that further highlights the stagnation in the present.
Williams – Sainz, much more than a driver
In this difficult context, Carlos Sainz’s role goes far beyond that of a standard race driver. The Spaniard is not just the lead driver of a struggling team—he has become an active part of the reconstruction process, as reported by SoyMotor.
Carlos Sainz now spends significantly more time at the factory than usual. His involvement is not driven by necessity, but by a deliberate choice consistent with his approach throughout his career. From his perspective, joining Grove meant almost starting from zero, despite the two-and-a-half podiums achieved in the previous season.
His daily presence in the factory allows direct interaction with engineers and creates stronger alignment between track performance, simulator work, and technical development. At a time when Williams needs cohesion above all else, Carlos Sainz’s contribution represents a tangible added value.
From the outside, a season without immediate targets may look like an exercise in endurance. Internally, however, the atmosphere is described very differently: enthusiasm, and a sense of belonging to something being built from the ground up. Carlos Sainz has chosen to be part of this process, not just an observer waiting for better times.
The message from Grove is clear and consistent: there are no shortcuts. Reconstruction takes time, investment, and difficult decisions. The arrival of profiles like Milner is aimed at fixing real structural weaknesses. James Vowles’ leadership remains focused on deep transformation rather than short-term fixes.
Williams knows its current starting point is not enough to compete. It also knows the only way forward is internal change—methodical, patient, and aware that some processes cannot be accelerated by decree. The construction site is open. Work is underway.
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