– Williams team principal James Vowles admitted that the team’s remaining upgrades in the 2026 Formula 1 season will not be enough to consistently score points.
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In the podcast The Fast And The Curious, Vowles explained that the mistakes from the original development phase of the car will accompany the team until the end of the season: “It has been a difficult year, and it will remain a difficult year until the end,” the Brit made clear.
“There is no sugarcoating it. Many of the mistakes we made over the winter will stay with us until the end of the year. We are now trying to keep our heads above water until we bring the next year’s car to the start,” said Vowles.
The team from Grove has struggled since the start of the 2026 season. The team already traveled to the winter tests in Bahrain with an overweight car and has only been able to collect eleven points in the 14 race weekends so far.
Williams will introduce extensive upgrades at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. However, Vowles spoke realistically about the immediate impact of the upgrades on the track.
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“There will be small steps this year, but they will not be enough to bring us to the level where I would like to see us – and that is to score points every weekend,” he explained.
“That simply does not correspond to reality today. But do I believe that we will move forward in the field next year? Yes. After all, it is hard to fall further back. We will improve because of this, but it remains hard work,” says Vowles.
Williams is currently in ninth place in the constructors’ standings, only ahead of Aston Martin and Cadillac. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place from September 24 to 26 in Baku.
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