Williams Triumphs; 2026 Machine Seeks to Break Records with Record-Breaking Performance

Motorsport photo 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 Alexander Albon, Williams 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 Alexander Albon, Williams, Carlos Sainz, Williams 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.