James Vowles does not agree with former Mercedes colleagues about Red Bull winning every race

Williams Racing team principal James Vowles is unsure about Red Bull Racing winning every race in the 2023 Formula 1 season.

This comes after George Russell predicted Red Bull would "win every single race this season" and opined that the 2023 F1 titles were "sewn up" after the Milton Keynes outfit looked unbeatable in Bahrain.

After winning the Drivers' and Constructors' titles almost unchallenged last year, Red Bull continued their dominant form in 2023 when they won the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix by finishing nearly 40 seconds ahead of their nearest challenger.

Vowles, who previously worked as Mercedes' Chief Strategist, is of the opinion that other teams will close the gap to Red Bull as the season progresses. He said (via RacingNews365):

"Do I think Red Bull will dominate the first part of the season? No, I doubt it. I think you'll see Ferrari will be a lot closer to them here [Jeddah] and it will be at tracks like Silverstone, Barcelona, where Mercedes will be mighty as a result of what I know of that package."

He added:

"On balance across the season do I think they're the fastest? Yes, but they still have a wind tunnel deficit. It's not as big as I think it necessarily should be to balance things out, but it's still there.

"It will still mean across the season that you'll see other people moving towards them. And with the rules carrying over to next year, you have to keep developing this class, so things will close up."

Red Bull's dominance looks set to continue in Saudi Arabia after Sergio Perez claimed the pole position during an action-packed qualifying session at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. However, teammate and reigning two-time F1 champion Max Verstappen dropped out in Q2 due to technical problems.

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"It has facilities beyond dreams and desires" - James Vowles explain how different Mercedes is from Williams

Having worked with Mercedes before moving to Williams, James Vowles was asked during the team principals' press conference on Friday (March 17) about the key areas of difference between the two teams.

Comparing the two teams, Vowles said:

"Yeah, I mean, it is very different. You have to take into account that Mercedes was dominant for so many years. It has facilities beyond dreams and desires. To a certain extent, Williams didn't necessarily have that. It had a period of its history where it didn't have the investment required and it reflects that in the building that's there."

He added:

"However, what I can see between both organisations is passion: desire to effectively move forward and do the best you can and that remains there whether you're at the back of the grid or the front."