Struggling since the start of the
2026 season,
Williams is finding it hard to get out of Q1 and has only scored a single
point, with
Carlos Sainz in China.
Read more Max Verstappen considers rallying too dangerous: «Not for me»
The team points in particular to the
weight of the car as a key factor, which it is seeking to
correct during the current break. But for Vowles, the
most significant developments will arrive after the August
break, at the end of the European tour.
Constant but
relative evolution
« We can see that the group
of cars between P5 and P7 is extremely tight, there isn’t
much of a gap, Vowles notes. The problem with
consistency is that even these teams don’t score points
consistently. You have to be above that group. What
I can anticipate is that we have a huge amount of work
in progress, up to and after the August break, to add
performance to the car. The other teams will do the same, it’s
a relative game. But a significant part of these gains, among the
most significant, will arrive after this break. »
With this in mind, Williams even
used the end of the
Japanese Grand Prix as a full-scale
test session with
Alex
Albon, multiplying pit stops to make
setup changes: « We knew we
weren’t in a position to score points, but we want to maximize
our learning at every race. »
Read more Lewis Hamilton warned at Ferrari after being dominated by Charles Leclerc in Japan
Catching up
Rather than using
classic tools like flo-vis or rakes (often used
in free practice), the team chose to adjust
aerodynamic settings in race conditions: « We
varied the front wing angles to check that the
front and rear downforce data matched
perfectly across several configurations. This allows us to
ensure there are no unexpected gains or losses, and
that our aerodynamic mapping is correct for further
development in the wind tunnel. »
Williams is thus adopting a methodical approach,
relying on data correlation and medium-term
development to close the gap.
Read more Binotto rules out the arrival of a new boss at Audi amid rumors surrounding Horner