James Vowles says the F1 paddock has been ‘very hard’ on three-podium rival driver this season

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Williams are involved in a three-team scrap at the bottom of the constructors’ championship right now. With half the season gone, James Vowles’ squad are sitting in ninth place.

They’ve only managed to score four points this year, having racked up 11 at the same stage in 2023. That haul has come from two P9 finishes for Alex Albon, the first in Monaco and the second at Silverstone last time out.

Alpine are one spot and five points up the road. The Enstone outfit started the year with the slowest car on the grid but they’ve made clear progress.

Between Miami and Austria, they scored points at five out of six races, but they haven’t managed to crack the top eight yet. That has kept them firmly in Williams’ sights.

Sauber are the only team yet to score this season and may be counting the days until the arrival of Audi in 2026. They haven’t finished higher than 13th since the opening race of the season in Bahrain.

Haas were also part of the lower midfield scrap until Nico Hulkenberg scored back-to-back sixth-place finishes to shoot them up the order. With 27 points under their belt, they’re now only four behind RB.

James Vowles feels Esteban Ocon has been harshly treated

Speaking to Canal+, Vowles defended one of Williams’ competitors in Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman came under fire after he collided with teammate Pierre Gasly at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix.

It was the sixth time in his F1 career that Ocon had collided with the sister car. The incident left him with terminal damage, while Gasly needed significant repairs.

Alpine subsequently announced a mutual parting of ways with the 27-year-old. But Vowles insists he ‘deserves his place’ on the grid, having virtually matched two-time world champion Fernando Alonso over a single lap before Gasly’s arrival.

Vowles was formerly the chief strategist at Mercedes, who brought Ocon into F1 through their driver academy. He believes his speed should outweigh his incident-prone reputation.

“I have known Esteban for about ten years and I have worked with him,” he said. “I called him after Monaco. In my opinion, the world championship has been very hard on him.

“Esteban is very fast, at such a level that, when he raced with Alonso, they were practically on par in qualifying He does things that have a lot of value, which means he deserves his place in Formula 1.

“It is true that he normally fights very closely with his teammate and there have also been contacts, there is no doubt, but I have also noticed that he is very, very fast. This is the most difficult part when you are a driver.”

Ocon set to join Haas for 2025 season

Vowles has a cockpit of his own to offer Ocon, but he seems set on going a different way. Valtteri Bottas is the favourite to replace Logan Sargeant as it stands.

Meanwhile, Ocon is headed to Haas. It emerged on Tuesday that he’d signed the contract, with an announcement was imminent.

He’ll be partnering a rookie in Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman. For the first time in his F1 career, he’s clearly the senior figure within a team.

Fred Vasseur wanted Haas to sign a mentor for Bearman, and it remains to be seen how effectively Ocon fills that role. His main concern will be his own performances, of course, but he can raise the collective ceiling by guiding the teenager.