How a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet From Hell Slowed Williams' F1 Cars For Years

It wasn't obvious to outsiders why Williams Racing has slowly slipped down the Formula 1 standings over last two decades. There's been vague talk of outdated processes and internal under-investment, but only now do we have a specific example. That would be the hellacious Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that team principal James Vowles says has been a major drag on car development for years.

Vowles told The Race that on joining the team in early 2023, he found its internal processes were a disaster. The team's entire car-building process was reportedly so inefficient that even when the design was done in good time, disorganized parts management meant the 2024 car was just a pile of parts with just three weeks until testing. Some of this was down to how Williams kept inventory—in a monster of an Excel spreadsheet.

The way Vowles and technical director Pat Fry reportedly recounted it, Williams has been using a spreadsheet that grew to include some 20,000 parts used to make its cars. Williams has apparently relied on such spreadsheets for years now, including even for the 2024 car at early stages.

Not only was this system amateurish and unnavigable (making it unsuitable for the hectomillion-dollar sport that is F1), it was also desperately lacking in important logistical info. The team reportedly didn't have a central resource that tracked what parts cost, how long they took to make, or even how many they had or where they were stored. This forced production staff to search for parts whose location hadn't been documented, wasting valuable time.