Albon admits Williams’ 2026 recovery is already being shaped by 2027

Williams’ difficult 2026 campaign

Alex Albon expects Williams to endure a difficult second half of the 2026 Formula 1 season, with the team’s main priority increasingly shifting towards producing a faster and more complete car for 2027.

Williams is due to bring a major package to Baku in September. Team principal James Vowles previously described it as “almost an entirely new car”, but Albon does not expect it to transform the team’s fortunes immediately.

He added that the team was taking the correct approach, although much of the work was now being directed towards next year’s design. As Williams’ wider rebuild faces a delay, the immediate challenge is to limit the damage while ensuring the same weaknesses do not carry over.

FW48 weaknesses limiting Albon

Williams’ difficulties began with a slow start to the 2026 regulation change. Production delays forced it to miss the Barcelona shakedown in January, and the consequences have remained visible. The FW48 is overweight, while the high-downforce Hungaroring amplified that weakness.

For Albon, the problem is now affecting not only the team’s results but also his ability to extract his own performance. He said he had to “under-drive” the car because of the gusts, wind and track conditions, making it difficult to establish consistency.

There were only six laps in the race, Albon explained, when the wind stabilised enough for him to settle into a rhythm. Once it returned, he was back into the same cycle of uncertainty.

“It feels like you're making mistakes but you're not,” he said. “You're just braking at the same places, doing the same things, but just lacking consistency. It was a battle out there today.”

That assessment leaves Williams facing a long-term recovery rather than a quick fix. Baku may offer an important test of the team’s development direction, but Albon’s comments suggest the decisive verdict will come from whether the 2027 car finally eliminates the traits currently restricting both drivers and performance.