James Vowles experiences driving legendary Williams FW14B at Goodwood

James Vowles, Williams Formula 1 team principal, received a special opportunity to drive the legendary FW14B at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed — an experience he described as a “dream day.”

“It’s brilliant. The heritage team has done such an excellent job,” Vowles expressed after completing the famous hillclimb in Nigel Mansell’s 1992 championship-winning car.

“This is truly Nigel’s original car that won him the 1992 world championship. Everything is one of one, so I had to be extremely careful. But this machine just urges you to go faster and faster.”

Vowles shared an interesting experience with Sauber F1 driver Gabriel Bortoleto who showed interest in the car — particularly about the significant difference from modern F1 cars, specifically the extremely tight pedal box space.

The Adrian Newey-designed FW14B — equipped with a 3.5-liter V10 engine producing 750 horsepower — won 10 out of 16 races in the 1992 season, with Mansell setting a record of nine victories and his teammate Riccardo Patrese adding one more.