Alex Albon doubts Williams’ planned Baku upgrade will be enough to revive the team’s disappointing 2026 Formula 1 season, revealing that much of its current technical focus has already shifted towards the 2027 car. Williams has scored only 11 points during the opening half of the campaign, and the British-Thai driver does not expect the major Azerbaijan Grand Prix package to eliminate the FW48’s fundamental weaknesses.
The Grove-based team entered Formula 1’s new technical era with considerable confidence after finishing fifth in the 2025 constructors’ championship. However, Williams has endured a difficult season in which its results have fallen well short of the expectations created before the opening race.
Williams struggles to score points in disappointing 2026 season
Scoring points has proved extremely difficult for Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz. Only the ability and experience of the two drivers have enabled James Vowles’ team to reach the summer break with 11 points, leaving Williams ninth in the 2026 Formula 1 constructors’ standings.
Adding to that total after the break could prove even more challenging. The battle in the lower midfield is tightly contested between Alpine, Racing Bulls and Audi, while Aston Martin could also join that group if its recent progress continues.
Williams is preparing a significant development package for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but Alex Albon believes even those updates are unlikely to correct all the car’s problems.
Alex Albon doubts Williams’ Baku upgrade will fix the FW48
“It is a shame that we find ourselves in this situation,” Alex Albon said. “We are moving in the right direction, but I doubt that we will solve the problems in Baku. I think much of the work concerning that weekend has already been completed. That upgrade was planned a long time ago.”
The comments suggest that the specification scheduled to arrive at the Baku City Circuit was designed before Williams fully understood the extent of the weaknesses affecting the FW48. Although the package could still improve performance, Alex Albon does not expect it to provide a complete solution.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is scheduled to take place later in September as part of the remaining 2026 Formula 1 calendar. By that stage, Williams will have already completed three races after the summer break, beginning with the Dutch Grand Prix.
Williams shifts development focus towards its 2027 F1 car
Alex Albon revealed that the team’s longer-term priority is now ensuring that the same characteristics do not carry over into its next car.
“A lot of what we are really focusing on, unfortunately, concerns the 2027 car,” he added. “It is about making sure that next year’s car does not have these characteristics. It is frustrating because I cannot really drive the car properly at the moment.”
His remarks underline the severity of the FW48’s balance problems. Rather than being able to extract the maximum performance from the car, Alex Albon has frequently been forced to drive below the limit because of its unpredictable behaviour.
FW48 production delays damaged Williams’ development programme
Williams’ problems can be traced partly to delays in completing and producing the FW48. Those setbacks caused considerable embarrassment for the team, including its absence from the Barcelona shakedown, and also complicated the car’s subsequent development programme.
Although the impact of the original delays now appears to have been reduced, clear shortcomings remain in terms of balance and overall performance. The FW48 has struggled to provide Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz with the consistency and confidence required to compete regularly for points.
The Baku package may still help Williams move closer to the congested midfield, but Alex Albon’s assessment indicates that expectations should remain limited. The team’s immediate objective is to improve its current car wherever possible while ensuring that the same fundamental problems are not repeated in 2027.
For Williams, the second half of the 2026 season may therefore become as much about preparation for the future as recovering its present campaign. After entering the year with ambitions of building on fifth place in 2025, the team now faces the difficult task of salvaging results from the FW48 while laying stronger foundations for its next Formula 1 car.
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