Williams to follow Haas' lead: 'Important for us to make significant step'

Williams has not been back in midfield on the F1 grid since 2019. Major problems caused them to have to chase. With George Russell they have a huge talent in house and it is slowly paying off. In 2020 they came close to points a couple of times and in 2021 the goal is to get points with the same lineup as well.

Still, the British team will not go all out to score points next season. "It is a transition year after all and we are already putting the focus on the car in 2022," acknowledges CEO Jost Capito in conversation with Autosport.com. "We will not compress ourselves with the 2022 car because of the developments for the 2021 car". With this, Capito confirms that they are following the example of Haas, who have stopped development altogether.

Focus on 2022 for investors

"There's also not very much more we can do about the current car. We will keep fighting and pushing this season. We know where our car stands and we will continue to develop. However, we will only develop within the limits without compressing the preparation for 2022."

Williams will be driving its first full year with new investors this year, so it makes sense that they would want to do well in 2022. "We really need a significant step with the new regulations and new car. That's our goal as well. We will not measure success in 2021 by points or positions. We need to start understanding the car more," Capito concluded.