Williams remain optimistic about their ability to hold on to fifth place in the Formula One constructors’ championship, despite recent reliability concerns and a series of retirements. The team expects a significant car upgrade to arrive later this month, potentially boosting their form for the second half of the season.
Team principal James Vowles told the media that the brake issue, which prevented Carlos Sainz from starting last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, has been identified and should be resolved in time for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
“We are very clear on the issue with Carlos. It can be replicated on a rig, it can be understood, and we will have mitigation in place for Silverstone,” Vowles explained.
However, the problems affecting teammate Alex Albon are proving more difficult to pin down. The Thai driver has failed to finish his last three races — in Spain due to collisions and in Canada and Austria due to technical faults. Vowles revealed that the issue appears to have also impacted Sainz’s car, albeit less severely.
“The issue that Alex suffered was such an instantaneous and rapid problem that it is very hard to replicate,” he said at a fan event in London hosted by Gulf Oil International, one of the team’s sponsors. “While we do not yet fully understand the root cause, we have four or five different tests that should help us uncover it.”
He added that although the team expects to be in a better position by the time the car hits the track this weekend, some compromises to performance may still be necessary.
“There is evidence of the issue on both sides of the garage. Sometimes it is very significant and severe, other times more manageable,” Vowles added.
Despite these setbacks, Williams is currently 19 points clear of Racing Bulls in sixth place after 11 of the season’s 24 races. They remain 107 points behind Red Bull in fourth.
Looking ahead, Vowles confirmed that a final major upgrade for the 2025 season is being prepared, with the team targeting either the Belgian or Hungarian Grand Prix later this month to introduce it.
“On paper, it looks substantial,” Vowles said. “We have been focused in the wind tunnel on 2026 development and have tried to be clever about how we integrate that into this year’s upgrade.”
He emphasised that maintaining fifth place would depend not only on car performance, but also on avoiding mistakes and executing clean race weekends.
“We need to make sure the car is reliable. We cannot afford accidents. We have to operate properly with strategy, pit stops, engineering and so on,” he said. “Even with the car we have today, I am comfortable that we can hold on to fifth in the championship. The performance step from the upgrade should only make our life easier.”
