Williams upgrades “won’t be enough” to fix 2026 F1 struggles, says James Vowles
Williams Formula 1 team principal James Vowles has admitted that the team’s remaining 2026 upgrades will not be enough to consistently fight for points.
The Grove outfit has struggled since the beginning of the 2026 season. It arrived at pre-season testing in Bahrain with an overweight car, and it has only picked up 11 points in 14 rounds.
Speaking on The Fast And The Curious podcast, Vowles explained that the errors made during the car’s initial development phase will hinder the squad for the remainder of the season.
“It’s been a tough year, and it will continue to be a tough year to the end,” the Briton said.
“There’s just no two ways about it. A lot of the mistakes that we made across the winter period will stay with us all the way until the end of this year. And what we’re trying to do is put ourselves back above water by the time we get into next year’s car.”
Williams will introduce substantial upgrades at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but Vowles was blunt about the immediate impact of the updates on track.
Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
“There’ll be small steps this year, but they won’t be enough to put us to even the bare minimum of where I’d like to be, which is scoring points for a weekend,” he continued.
“That simply is not the reality of where we are today. For next year, though, do I think we’ll move forward on the grid? Yes. It’s hard to move backwards on the grid. We’ll move forward on the grid as a result of it, but it will still be a tough old slog.”
Williams currently sits ninth in the constructors’ standings, ahead only of Aston Martin and Cadillac.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is set for 24-26 September at the Baku City Circuit.
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