Williams explain what they will sacrifice to attack the F1 2026 regulations

Williams team principal James Vowles says the team will have no qualms if it loses fifth place in the championship, as it looks ahead to Formula 1’s new era in 2026.

The Grove-based squad has made a massive leap with the FW47 to emerge at the head of a tight midfield pack, having largely struggled near the tail end of the pack in 2024.

Formula 1’s prize distribution system is heavily dependent on a team’s championship position, and finishing fifth in the standings comes with a substantial financial boost..

However, despite the potential loss of revenue, the team has remained committed to its plan to switch off the development of its current challenger and allocate its resources towards its car for the F1 2026 regulations.

The strategy could potentially leave Williams vulnerable in the latter half of the season, with Aston Martin, Sauber and Racing Bulls sitting just 25 points behind it.

Williams are looking at the bigger picture in F1

But Vowles stressed that Williams’ finishing position in 2025 is immaterial, as the team made a clear decision to stop chasing short-term results and put everything into 2026.

“Everything is switched off. It's already done, it's decided. And that was done in agreement with the shareholders,” he revealed.

“I really enjoy the fact we're fifth this year. It's a fantastic element for ourselves, for our partners, for anyone that's associated with us. But the goal of this team is to win world championships and you're simply not going to do that by continuing fighting for a position or two in a constructors’ championship. 

“So that decision was taken in January and the pathway we're on is actually this update we did. It wasn't even guaranteed we would do this update, it was the elements of a few bits that we did in the tunnel across January, February and a little bit of March. 

“That's it. We're not doing anything more. I won't do anything more.  And if that results in us being 6th in the championship or 7th, so be it.”

Williams has scored some headline results this year, with Alex Albon finishing fifth in Montreal, Miami and Miami to pull the team away from its nearest rivals.

However, Williams has found the going tough recently, with last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix marking a particularly low point as both Albon and Carlos Sainz finished outside the points.

Vowels pointed to the pecking order ebbing and flowing as teams introduced updates at different points in the year.

“When I reflect on our season this year, we've had elements where we've delivered and when we delivered, it's delivered well as a result of a number of iterations or cars in front of us.

“I would say it's gonna be a very close battle between P5 all the way down to probably P8, which I think is the reflection of it.

“And I think if you look at our performance, up until Imola, Miami, you would say, yeah, we are 5th or fourth because we're picking up good results, we're not making the mistakes, but the field is very compact.  

“Then in Imola and Miami, it took the world a little bit by surprise as to how far we can push this car and develop this car. 

“Then the development race kicked in and others have added performance. Ferrari have done a brilliant job in that regard and it was our update at Spa that brought us back into a position where we were again able to get the car into the top 10. That's my assessment of it.  

“I think any team could have had fortunate results along the way through. 

“We did a good job when the car was quick and we were able to pick up the points that we could. 

“That said, I could already point you towards 18 points we didn't pick up at that time, So I'm not surprised [we are still fifth]. 

“It’s a long season left to go. I was surprised more in Imola, Miami that we were as quick as we were. That's probably why. “