– After finishing 18th and 19th in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Williams is anything but happy. Alexander Albon emphasizes that the traditional racing team can only dream of an upgrade package like Aston Martin’s.
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“I don’t know what kind of upgrade Aston had in the car,” he said after qualifying. “We could only dream of that. They probably found one and a half to two seconds.”
Consequently, both Williams cars are on the grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix behind Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin. “We’ll only be able to fight them in some races simply because of our top speed,” Albon said.
F1: Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest) 2026
“But I can tell you,” explains the Williams driver, “that they are significantly faster than us in the corners. That really opens our eyes and we know what our Baku upgrade has in store.”
“And,” Albon openly admits, “it’s not like that [like Aston’s], so we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Both Williams drivers are struggling with the constantly changing behavior of their car from session to session. When asked where this inconsistency comes from, Albon replied after qualifying: “If we knew that, we would have already solved the problem.”
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Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, emphasized in his statements after the session: “We have to approach this as a team with a positive attitude. I want everyone [in the team] to approach it positively and not be afraid.”
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Instead of sinking into frustration, Sainz sees Aston’s upgrade as a possible inspiration: if a team with comparable resources can achieve that, why shouldn’t it be possible for Williams, according to the four-time Grand Prix winner’s thinking?
“And if we don’t achieve that: Why? Why don’t we have these opportunities? For me, it’s important in the future to show that we have the capacity to achieve exactly such a turnaround as the midfield team ahead of us.”
According to Sainz, Aston Martin has managed to put together the best aerodynamic package of all midfield teams with its upgrade package. Whether Williams can also succeed in such a step remains to be seen. The major upgrade package is scheduled to debut in Baku, according to team principal James Vowles.
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In the Constructors’ World Championship, Williams is in eighth position. Directly behind the traditional racing team, Audi’s factory team lurks with just one point less.
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