Williams’ Silverstone upgrades delivered the performance gains predicted for the FW48, but Carlos Sainz has admitted that the team’s enormous deficit to the leading midfield contenders remains deeply frustrating. Despite finding approximately two tenths of a second with its latest package, Williams was still almost one second behind Racing Bulls at the British Grand Prix.
Finding a couple of tenths in Formula 1 is always a complex undertaking. However, when those gains arrive at the beginning of a new technical-regulation cycle and a team has started from a very low competitive level, such an improvement is no longer enough to transform its position in the field.
Williams FW48 upgrades cannot disguise fundamental weaknesses
That is the situation facing Williams. The team entered the season with considerable expectations after ending development of its 2025 car early, only to discover that the FW48 was significantly above the minimum weight limit. The excess weight was not the car’s only weakness, but it quickly emerged as the most important item on a lengthy list of problems identified at Grove.
James Vowles originally intended to bring the car down to its target weight within the opening six races of the season. That programme was not completed on schedule, and only now is the FW48 beginning to shed weight more substantially. The team’s difficulties had already become apparent during 2026 pre-season testing in Bahrain, when the overweight car and Williams’ limited earlier running complicated its preparations.
Williams introduced a series of updates at Silverstone that produced a measurable improvement on track. Nevertheless, the car’s limitations remain so numerous and pronounced that the progress has done little to ease the frustration Carlos Sainz has carried for several months. The new parts worked, but they were nowhere near sufficient to deliver a competitive level of speed in qualifying or over a race distance.
Speaking before the Belgian Grand Prix weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, Carlos Sainz explained: “I think that at Silverstone, more than being disappointed with the upgrade, we were disappointed with the overall performance. It is such a long circuit, where ultimately you depend on downforce, aerodynamic drag and weight. Obviously, finding ourselves almost two seconds behind the leaders and one second behind Racing Bulls was quite disappointing.”
Carlos Sainz says Silverstone package met expectations
Although the overall result was discouraging, Carlos Sainz does not believe the new components themselves failed. Instead, the scale of Williams’ underlying problems meant that even an upgrade behaving as expected could not close such a substantial gap.
“Looking back at it now, the upgrade honestly delivered more or less what we expected,” Carlos Sainz said. “The simulator perhaps suggested a greater performance improvement than the simulations indicated. Maybe we relied too heavily on the simulator, when the simulation was probably correct in the sense that we expected a couple of tenths and gained a couple of tenths.”
The progress was at least sufficient to change Williams’ position relative to Haas. Carlos Sainz believes the new front wing has enabled the FW48 to move ahead of the American team, demonstrating that the update produced a genuine competitive benefit rather than merely improving the car’s theoretical numbers.
“In Austria and Barcelona, we were behind Haas, and that was because of that front wing,” Carlos Sainz continued. “Now we are ahead of Haas in both qualifying and the race. Unfortunately, however, we are still three, four or five tenths behind Alpine and almost one second behind Racing Bulls. That is what left me a little more disappointed, because it made me realise how far we are from where we want to be.”
The size of the deficit underlines how difficult the first season of a new technical era has been for Williams. Comparisons from the opening 2026 Bahrain test had already placed Williams behind several midfield rivals, and the Silverstone upgrade has not been enough to overturn that competitive order.
Carlos Sainz believes his performances are going unnoticed
Williams’ disappointing form has also removed Carlos Sainz from the Formula 1 spotlight at an important moment when several leading drivers could potentially have changed teams. The Madrid-born driver might have been one of the most valuable figures on the market if Williams had provided machinery capable of showcasing his abilities. Instead, the FW48’s lack of performance has left him largely hidden in the midfield.
“I don’t think it matters how well I manage to race,” Carlos Sainz admitted. “I think fans and the media generally tend not to notice you, because sometimes a tenth of a second makes no difference. You might only need to qualify one tenth further ahead on the grid.”
“But that is not reflected in the championship positions, especially this year, when the gaps between the drivers are enormous. Last year, one tenth in Q2 could have given you the opportunity to beat Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton, who were struggling, and therefore reach Q3. If Kimi Antonelli had been in Q2, you would have stood out.”
“This year, all of that is impossible. We are too far away to make the news or attract enough attention from the media and fans for them to realise how well you are performing. So, yes, in the end, there are those well-known driver rankings.”
Carlos Sainz joined a long list of drivers who have represented both Ferrari and Williams when he moved to Grove, a connection explored through the history of drivers who raced for Ferrari and Williams. However, the current FW48 has prevented him from regularly fighting in the positions that attract the most television coverage and media attention.
Strong personal statistics offer Carlos Sainz encouragement
Most Formula 1 fans naturally focus on the leading rows of the grid or, at most, the top 10 positions that award championship points at the end of a race. Williams has frequently been far removed from those more prestigious places this season, and Carlos Sainz has not attempted to conceal how difficult he finds the current situation.
“People always end up focusing on the drivers in the first eight cars, who shine a little more because they are fighting for podiums and top-five finishes,” Carlos Sainz explained. “So far, what I can rely on are my statistics, my relative performances, the comparison with my teammate and everything else. From that perspective, my statistics this year have been incredibly good.”
“I have had very strong qualifying performances, very good race pace and I have been the best driver at the start, both in terms of the launch itself and positions gained. So I am dealing with everything I can control. But I believe sporting directors and teams study all these details, especially when assessing performance.”
Those numbers have become particularly important because Williams’ position in the competitive order makes conventional results a poor reflection of individual execution. Even a strong start, an excellent qualifying lap or an effective race stint may produce little visible reward when the car lacks enough pace to challenge for points.
“I know the media and fans perhaps do not see all the details because we are not on television or in the headlines,” Carlos Sainz added. “However, people within this world understand and notice them, or have access to them through all the statistics and detailed analysis. In that sense, I am quite satisfied with my year, even though it has not been particularly spectacular.”
The challenge for Williams is therefore twofold. The team must continue reducing the FW48’s weight while also addressing the wider aerodynamic and performance deficiencies that have left it far behind Racing Bulls and Alpine. The complexity of the 2026 cars can also be seen in Williams’ comparatively elaborate movable front-wing activation concept, an area in which every team has pursued its own technical solution.
For Carlos Sainz, the Silverstone update provided confirmation that Williams can successfully transfer development work from its tools to the circuit. However, gaining the expected two tenths has simultaneously exposed the far more uncomfortable reality: even when an upgrade works, Williams still has an enormous distance to cover before the FW48 can compete regularly at the front of the midfield.
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