James Vowles: Williams F1's facilities are 20 years behind

Williams chief James Vowles has unveiled plans for a complete overhaul of the struggling Formula 1 team, citing outdated facilities that are "20 years behind".

Having made the transition from Mercedes, a team that secured eight consecutive world championships, Vowles now faces the challenge of reviving a team that has finished at the bottom of the rankings in four of the last five seasons.

Recognising the magnitude of the task at hand, Vowles highlighted several areas where Williams' facilities are severely lacking, making it difficult to compete at the forefront of Formula 1.

Due to years of inadequate investment, Williams' facilities have fallen significantly short in comparison to teams like Brackley.

Vowles discovered that certain aspects are woefully inadequate in meeting the requirements necessary to compete at the highest level.

"There are some elements that are 20 years out of date, which makes sense if you think through the history of this team. The investment it had was zero for around about 20 years and then an investment firm came through," said Vowles.

"Fundamentally, we're in a situation where a lot of facilities were almost preserved from where they were 20 years ago.

"Composites is behind what I knew when I first joined the sport with a different team 20 years ago..."

Vowles also believes the Williams staff may need to update their views on what excellence means.

"The view of what excellence is is completely different to what it really is today, and you have to move things forward," added Vowles.

"Internally, a lot of the work I've been asking them to do has been likened to asking us to do three years of development in six months. Yes, but that's the standard. In fact, the standard is higher than that.

"This is where I think we have to have a middle step. You have to show people the pathway, lead them down the pathway and make sure you support them and provide them with the equipment that allows them to do the same thing."