Steiner Warns Vowles Could Face Exit as Williams Goes 'Backwards'

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has delivered a blunt assessment of James Vowles's tenure at Williams, warning that the Grove outfit is regressing under the 2026 regulations and suggesting leadership changes could follow if the slump continues. After another difficult Hungarian Grand Prix, Steiner claimed the team is moving backwards rather than forwards, setting an unofficial deadline for Vowles to turn things around.

Why it matters:

Williams had shown genuine promise under Vowles, climbing from seventh in 2023 to fifth by his third season. But the 2026 rulebook shift has exposed lingering structural issues, leaving the team ninth with 11 points as the summer break begins. Steiner's intervention adds credible external pressure from a former team principal who understands the difficulty of running a midfield Formula 1 operation.

The details:

• Steiner joked on The Red Flags Podcast that Vowles needs time to "read all his emails" from the start of the year, but set a hard deadline: if results don't improve five or six races into next season, "you're out."
• Williams sits ninth in the constructors' standings with 11 points, just ahead of Aston Martin in tenth with a single point.
• Despite Aston Martin introducing an extensive upgrade package in Hungary, Steiner believes the Silverstone squad will overhaul Williams by year-end, stating he does not expect Williams to score again.
• Vowles took charge in 2023 and oversaw gradual progress, yet the squad's inability to adapt to the latest regulatory era has stalled that momentum.

What's next:

The summer break gives Williams a narrow window to address its 2026 car deficiencies before racing resumes. With Steiner publicly drawing a line in the sand for early next year, Vowles faces a shrinking margin for error to prove his long-term plan can survive the sport's latest technical reset.