It’s no overstatement that Williams’s start to 2026 has been a disaster. From a sample size of three qualifying sessions in Melbourne and Shanghai, its highest qualifying position is Alex Albon’s 15th place on the grid in Australia, when team-mate Carlos Sainz didn’t make qualifying after hitting trouble in third free practice.
In China, Sainz and Albon were dumped out in Q1 in 17th and 18th – two and six tenths off Q2 respectively – with Sainz qualifying in the same position in the sprint while Albon was last with another car problem.
Alexander Albon, Williams
Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
It’s easy to point to Williams’s car being significantly overweight, which the team admitted in Australia. But the size of its deficit is clearly down to more factors than that, so the team that spent most of 2025 focusing on this year will have to go back to the drawing board to bring significant aerodynamic upgrades.
“We cannot hide behind the weight because at the end of the day there are other cars that are not on weight in the midfield,” a frustrated Albon said. “Definitely not as much as we are, but they’re still overweight and the deficit we have to these teams is not just that.”
Alexander Albon, Williams, Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Dom Gibbons / LAT Images via Getty Images
Beyond the weight and a lack of downforce, Williams has been all at sea in China with significant car balance issues and has all but exhausted all the options to cure them.
“We’re going in areas that we’ve never been before,” Albon said. “Nothing seems to fix the car. I’m sure the Cadillac is quicker than us in quite a few corners, so I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on. The biggest issue at the minute is the car’s three wheeling, so we just need to fix that.
“There are a lot of balance issues in the car, we are seeing some [lack of] downforce as well, so it’s an accumulation of things.”
Another painful race ahead?
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing, Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Dom Gibbons / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Albon said he would likely start from the pitlane on Sunday, so the team can take his FW47 out of parc ferme and make further set-up changes overnight to provide him with a driveable balance.
“We’re going to have a discussion tonight about what else we can do to try to fix it. We’ll have a head scratch and if we think there’s a theory, I think you’ll see me starting from the pitlane again.”
Williams performed beyond all expectations last year to climb from ninth to fifth in the constructors’ standings. Going the opposite direction now, despite the overt 2026 focus and the benefit of class leading Mercedes power units, has been a shock to the Grove team’s system.
“It’s fair to say we’re all frustrated, but the team is all aligned on this,” Albon insisted. “It’s been a painful start to the season, but I still have faith in this team. It’s just that you’re coming from such a high last year to kind of back to where you were before.
“But we’ve been here before, we know what it takes to get back and we’re more prepared as well. We just have to wait, unfortunately it’s no easy process. We’ve just got to try to out-develop our midfield rivals and try to finish the season in a good place. But for now, we are clearly a good chunk behind.”
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