Sainz warns Williams is ‘very far’ from its 2026 targets even after weight loss

After Williams finished fifth in last season’s Formula 1 constructors’ standings, James Vowles framed that result as a new baseline for a team trying to build towards genuine championship contention. Less than halfway through 2026, that benchmark already looks under serious strain.

Sainz says weight loss alone will not solve Williams’ problem

The FW48 was completed late and arrived at pre-season testing significantly overweight. That remains part of the car’s competitive limitation, but Sainz believes even a car running at the current 768kg minimum would still be some way off the front.

“I think if you get rid of the overweight, you put yourself in the fight for those points – but that's not really enough,” he said. “For me, being one second off... We were 1.8 seconds off in qualifying, 1.7s, 1.6s, 1.9s off [in the race] depending on the lap.”

Sainz added that removing the excess weight might only lift Williams into a fight with Alpine, not into the territory the team had targeted. That concern echoes broader Williams performance questions, including Alex Albon’s warning over the team’s high-speed limitations ahead of Austria: Alex Albon warns Williams faces difficult Austrian GP amid high-speed weakness.

Aerodynamic deficit exposes missed development target

Sainz pointed directly to Williams’ aerodynamic shortfall, particularly in medium- and high-speed corners such as those that define Barcelona. The FW48, he said, does not generate the efficient downforce needed to compete at the intended level.

That is especially significant because Williams has had meaningful development scope under Formula 1’s Aerodynamic Testing Regulations, which allocate wind-tunnel and CFD resources based on constructors’ championship position. After finishing fifth last year, Williams has more leeway than Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull, but less than several teams behind it in the previous standings.

The car’s weight problem is linked to a failed pre-season crash test, which required elements to be strengthened. Williams is reducing that weight gradually, choosing under the budget cap to run many components to the end of their operating life before replacing them with lighter parts.

But Sainz made clear that weight is only part of the picture.

“It's been a bit more of a shock of how far we are in medium- and high-speed corners,” he said. “Partly due to weight, but even more important, the downforce that we have in the cars.”

His conclusion was uncompromising: Williams must return to development mode quickly. “It's time to go back to the drawing board and start bringing more things to the car,” Sainz said, because on medium-speed circuits, the team remains very far away from where it intended to be.