Vowles was "on the edge of my seat" during the Leclerc-Albon battle
Despite finishing in the points-scoring zone with both cars, Williams were left to rue the safety car interruption which hindered their chances of fighting for more at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Having displayed strong pace in qualifying, Williams split their strategies in the 63-lap Imola race. Carlos Sainz pitted early while his team-mate Alexander Albon stayed out to extend his opening stint.
When the virtual safety car was deployed, Albon took a cheap pit stop, and rejoined the track in third place. However, he was unable to keep Oscar Piastri at bay. In the dying stages of the race, the Thai driver was involved in a fierce battle with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who ran on much older hards.
With only a few laps to go, Albon was forced wide into the gravel which lost him a place to Lewis Hamilton behind. Leclerc eventually let Albon through, but that was only for fifth when he had been fighting for P4 on Sunday.
His team-mate Sainz topped the middle part of qualifying which meant that he started the race with high hopes. The Spaniard pitted relatively early, which meant that his strategy was hindered by both the virtual safety car and the standard safety car.
The Madrid-born race eventually fought his was back up through the field to end the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in P8.
Williams team boss James Vowles has concluded that he was "on the edge of my seat" during Albon's fierce battle with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
"Really great result for the team today with another double points finish, and yet there is still some disappointment as there was more available to us.
"But we’ve been fast all year long and we are progressing relative to some giants; we were running on genuine merit up in a podium position. Alex executed an absolutely mega drive."
As for the fierce battle between Albon and Leclerc, Vowles stated: "I was on the edge of my seat watching him fighting against the Ferraris. He came off on the worst end, although he did get ahead of one of them by the end.
"I’m proud of what he’s achieved and how he raced today. It’s a shame with Carlos; it was a very tricky call in the beginning and we didn’t get it right, but it will be his day and we will get him up into the right positions - we win and lose together," concluded Vowles.
