Doubt already cast as Williams deploys major F1 upgrade in Baku

Williams is preparing to deploy a major Formula 1 upgrade package it hopes will propel it into the upper midfield fight at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

Having failed to capitalise on F1’s major 2026 regulation changes, Williams has largely spent the season playing catch up after tumbling back down the competitive order. 

Williams finished a remarkable fifth place in the constructors’ championship last year but has slipped to ninth this season, managing just 11 points across 14 grands prix weekends so far. 

While Alex Albon is hopeful the upgrade will elevate Williams up the grid, he also expressed some early doubts. 

“They’re significant if they work, so let's see how it goes. We have to be honest with ourselves, we know what it should do on paper,” Albon said in Wednesday’s FIA press conference in Baku. 

“I think the weight's been a big talking point, and normally weight's a guarantee, so hopefully it's going to put us in a good place. 

“The team have done a massive job back at the factory. To do a chassis change in the middle of a season is not easy, and so it's putting us in a good place. Whether that's to fight the midfield now, time will tell.”

Asked if they showed promising signs in the simulator, Albon said: “They normally work on the sim, yeah. That's where a lot of our calculations come from.

“We've seen before that sometimes the sim and the track don't always correlate, but I'm hopeful. Cosmetically you won't see the car to be so different, but there are some small good changes in the car that will also hopefully improve the balance as well.” 

Williams started the season massively on the back foot with its FW48, which was not only badly off the pace but also overweight. Albon believes shedding weight from the car will provide Williams with immediate gains. 

“Obviously we've been carrying a substantial weight penalty this year so far. I think going into this weekend we've got ballast on the car, so you can imagine there's a big swing,” he explained. 

“It's again a testament to how much work we've actually been doing behind the scenes and I think a lot of new technology and a lot of new innovation was done to achieve that. 

“The weight itself is obviously a big thing and weight is a guarantee in terms of lap time, so that's why we know it will be a good step regardless of how the aero side performs. 

“It’s a good upgrade. I think what you have to also appreciate is just how well the midfield, especially this year, are upgrading as well. If you look at the development rate of this year, it's huge, and so even though we have a big upgrade, it's not a magnitude that can outpace the midfield at the minute. 

“So it's a good one and I think in any other year it would have been a massive one. But because of this year, the way it's going, it's just going to get us back into contention with that group.”

Albon is also cautious about placing too much emphasis on the impact of the upgrade in Baku, given the track is historically a happy hunting ground for Williams. 

“It's a track that suits us. We know we have a car generally that's quite good at ride. We know that we have a car that's normally quite good in these 90-degree corners,” he added. 

"We don't like long corners and we like short corners. Baku is pretty much all short corner based. Even in my time here at Williams, we've always gone well around here, so hopefully we can have a good result.

"Goals are progress, goals are hopefully to be able to fight with the upper midfield fight that the RBs, the Alpine, and the Audi, but we've been quite far away from that in previous races, so it's still a big jump to make to be able to race with those teams. Obviously we need a lot for that to happen.”