In the last five rounds of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship, the Williams Racing team has recorded the fewest points of any team on the grid, with just eight points scored. By contrast, Sauber has collected 35 points and the Racing Bulls have secured 26 in the same period. While the lack of major technical upgrades is certainly a factor—due to Williams’ early shift in focus to the 2026 regulations—the team’s poor haul is also the result of reliability problems and operational mistakes.
This downturn in form appears particularly striking when looking at the contrasting start of the season. Up to and including the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, Williams had been one of the strongest and most consistent midfield teams. In fact, the Grove-based squad had a solid hold on fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship, outperforming expectations and competing regularly for points.
However, from the Monaco Grand Prix onwards, the situation deteriorated dramatically. What was once one of the most convincing midfield contenders has now become the team with the lowest points tally over the last five races. What is concerning is not just the number of points collected, but everything that surrounds it—namely, erratic performance, recurring execution errors, and persistent reliability issues.
Of the last five races, only the double points finish in Monaco stands out positively. Apart from that, Williams has suffered four retirements—one of which occurred even before the start of the race—and just two other points finishes, in Canada and Great Britain. This is particularly disappointing given that there was real potential for more competitive results during those events.
One major factor affecting their performance has been recurring overheating problems, particularly on Alex Albon’s car. Combined with a few too many crashes and misjudged strategies, these issues have seriously compromised the team’s ability to stay competitive. While other midfield rivals have introduced successful upgrade packages over recent races, Williams has lagged behind.
The FW47 started the season as a solid and versatile car, capable of holding its own in the midfield. Alongside the Racing Bulls, it consistently competed for points and even showed flashes of brilliance in specific conditions, such as during the Miami Grand Prix. But while competitors moved forward, introducing key developments to their cars, Williams made a deliberate decision to stop developing the FW47 and shift its technical focus to the 2026 car project.
Haas has worked hard to resolve the bouncing issues that plagued its VF-25 chassis, while Sauber has introduced upgrades that have made its car significantly more competitive. Aston Martin has gradually improved the aerodynamic load of the AMR25, and although Alpine remains inconsistent, it too has focused development efforts on the 2026 regulations—just like Williams.
Williams’ choice to pivot early toward 2026 is no secret. The British outfit was among the first—if not the very first—teams to officially halt development on its current car in favor of designing its 2026 challenger. But this forward-looking approach comes at the cost of competitiveness in the present. Many of the persistent weaknesses of the FW47, especially those concerning chassis balance that new driver Carlos Sainz has often pointed out, are unlikely to be addressed this season.
The Williams FW47 has a very particular design DNA, and understanding how to extract its full performance potential takes time. Carlos Sainz appears to be gradually finding that key, despite the final race results not always reflecting his progress. However, two major issues remain: race execution and outright performance.
Looking back over the season, it is evident that the Williams team has struggled with strategic calls. Between Miami and Imola, several crucial points were lost, particularly through strategic missteps involving Carlos Sainz. Examples include fitting the wrong tyres and choosing suboptimal race strategies—errors that have cost the team dearly.
Another critical issue is thermal management. The team has suffered from repeated reliability problems linked to overheating. In Canada, for example, Alex Albon had to slow down before eventually retiring due to rising temperatures—this on a circuit where the car was expected to be competitive and score points. The same pattern occurred in Austria, where despite high hopes, the team walked away with zero points from another double retirement.
Earlier in the season, Williams introduced some cooling modifications, including a redesigned engine cover. However, the changes have not produced the desired results. In fact, some of these updates caused problems of their own, such as in a recent qualifying session where Albon’s car encountered issues linked to the revised bodywork. Free practice sessions at Silverstone were partially dedicated to analyzing and better understanding these ongoing problems.
“I think we can fix this during the season. We have to, especially when you look at how many points we’ve lost because of it,” said Alex Albon during the Silverstone weekend. “Once we bring some updates, we’ll need a car that can at least finish races. We’ve been lucky at times—the cooler temperatures in Silverstone helped—but we’ll face much hotter conditions in the upcoming races.”
Despite everything, the Anglo-Thai driver confirmed that some minor updates are still scheduled for the FW47, aiming to address some of the car’s critical weaknesses. However, with rival teams rapidly improving, there is a real risk that Williams will be overtaken in the battle for fifth in the Constructors’ Championship—a position that looked almost secure just a few weeks ago.
Temperature-related issues have also affected tyre management. As Formula 1 moves into the summer phase with hotter, high-speed circuits, Williams has struggled to find the optimal tyre temperature window. The FW47, which has always been sensitive to tyre overheating, now finds it especially difficult to maximize grip—particularly with the softer compounds used in qualifying.
This was evident once again at the recent British Grand Prix at Silverstone. On a track typically favorable to the FW47’s characteristics, even the cooler Saturday temperatures compared to Friday did not allow the car to shine. It took a combination of rain, competitor missteps, and perfectly timed calls from the pit wall for Williams to become competitive again during the race.
In conclusion, while Williams’ decision to shift development early to the 2026 Formula 1 season might eventually pay off, it is currently costing them in the short term. With other teams evolving and improving with every race weekend, the FW47 appears to be falling behind, still relying on the early-season advantage that has all but vanished. Unless the team can stabilize its performance and extract more from the current package, the midfield battle may slip away completely in the second half of the season.
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