Williams has been on the comeback trail since being acquired by Dorilton Capital in the autumn of 2020. In January 2023, the team appointed Mercedes lifer James Vowles as Team Principal and began a program of significant investment to improve the aging facilities at its Grove headquarters.
Persuading Sainz and Early Success
With Alex Albon leading the charge for Williams—often accompanied by a “pay driver” teammate—Vowles was determined to change this model in 2024 when it was announced Lewis Hamilton would be joining Ferrari the following year, leaving Carlos Sainz out in the cold.
Such was Vowles’s vision for returning the historic British racing marque to the front of the grid that he persuaded Carlos Sainz Williams was a better bet than both Audi and Alpine—which at the time were works outfits.
During his first year with the team in 2025, Sainz claimed two podium finishes in Baku and Qatar—the team’s first proper, full-race podiums since 2017, when Lance Stroll avoided the chaos in Baku to come home in P3.
The 2026 Technical Regulations Crisis
Yet all is not well in Grove this season, as the team is struggling under the new FIA 2026 technical regulations.
The FW48 started the season as much as 20–28 kg overweight relative to the 768 kg minimum weight limit. With 10 kg representing around 0.3 seconds of lap time, this was a massive performance penalty for the drivers. Early in the season, Carlos Sainz reported that the front wing flexed and backed off at high speeds, drastically shifting the aerodynamic balance and rendering the car almost undriveable over long stints.
Pre-Season Setbacks and Mounting Frustration
The team missed its pre-season shakedown due to manufacturing delays and repeated failures to pass the FIA crash test. Consequently, the drivers have described the year as a constant exercise in “putting out fires” rather than refining the car.
Despite upgrades that have removed excessive weight, Williams is now further from the front of the grid than when the season started. However, with today’s announcement that Alex Albon has signed a one-year contract extension, James Vowles will be breathing a sigh of relief.
Albon Recommits to the Grove Rebuild
A statement released by Albon read: “Since joining Atlassian Williams F1 Team in 2022, the transformation this team has made is difficult to put into words. One tough year doesn’t tell the full picture, and it only gives me more motivation to keep building and pushing together with the factory and our fans to achieve great things. Our story is not over yet, so my full focus now is on doing whatever it takes to get us back up the grid.”
The love-in continued as team boss Vowles was quoted as saying: “I am delighted that Alex and Atlassian Williams F1 Team are continuing our extraordinary journey together. Alex has been a leader of this transformation project since day one, and we have plenty of unfinished business that we are determined to achieve. Alex is one of the best drivers on the grid and knows better than anyone the enormous improvements we have made in recent years—re-signing him shows the belief we both have in the direction we are heading.”
The Elephant in the Room: Silence on Sainz
Yet the elephant in the room remains the lack of information regarding the future of Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard admitted the season came as a massive “shock” after going from fighting for podiums at the end of 2025 to being nearly two seconds off the pace. He publicly called the team’s first half of 2026 “bad, very bad, disappointing.”
After finishing last in Monaco among the sixteen cars that completed the Grand Prix, Sainz was more despondent than ever, stating that the extreme drop in fortunes had “tested my faith” in the long-term Williams project he signed up for.
Exit Clauses and Threat of Rival Teams
The team would ideally have announced both drivers’ contract extensions at the same time had it been able to do so, and reports have emerged that Sainz is negotiating an “exit mechanism” should a better opportunity open up for him elsewhere.
While Aston Martin has suffered an even worse start to this year than Williams, rumors suggest Fernando Alonso is coming to the end of his career and may retire. He said “goodbye” to the fans in Barcelona this season, as the race will now alternate with Spa and return next in 2028.
Despite Adrian Newey struggling with Aston Martin’s 2026 car design, as one of the most successful F1 engineers in history, he will surely bounce back strongly for 2027. Furthermore, Aston Martin already has state-of-the-art facilities thanks to a $200M investment from owner Lawrence Stroll—something that may take Williams several years to match.
Audi Links and a €30M Offer
Having turned down Audi to go to Williams, paddock rumors have emerged suggesting Sainz is looking for a move to the German team. When asked about this prospect, Audi leader Mattia Binotto said he was happy with his current driver lineup, but admitted he was flattered by the reports: “The fact that other drivers are linked to our team, I can only be very happy with because it shows the credibility of our project is improving.”
Other reports suggest Williams is so desperate to retain the services of Sainz that he has been offered a deal worth between €25M and €30M a year. This would make him one of the highest-paid drivers on the grid, but for now, the silence over Carlos’s future is deafening.
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Albon was already under contract for next year, so this is only about exercising his option.
On the other hand, I don’t think the lack of simultaneous announcement is deafening because from what Marca had reported, Sainz’s stay at Williams could be announced very soon, i.e., while in Zandvoort.
He doesn’t realistically have any other options; hence, he isn’t actually about to leave.
Not only is Audi happy with its drivers, but so is Alpine, while Alonso will more likely retire at the end of next than this season, if not even continue beyond, as reported recently.
He only referred to the Barcelona-Catalunya GP as possibly his last since the circuit isn’t on next season’s GP calendar.