Team boss makes shocking claim over Williams' F1 facilities: 'We're 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Williams chief James Vowles has unveiled plans for a complete overhaul of the struggling Formula 1 team, citing outdated facilities that are "20 years behind".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 transitioned 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 F1.

Due to years of inadequate investment, Williams' facilities have fallen significantly short compared to teams like Mercedes.

'Woefully inadequate'

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"There are some elements that are 20 years out of date, which makes sense if you think through the history of this team.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 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 ... that's the standard. In fact, the standard is higher than that.

"This is where I