James Vowles confirms Williams has more performance coming for Canada

Williams Keeps the Momentum Going

Williams arrived at the Miami International Autodrome carrying one of the most comprehensive upgrade packages in the team's recent history. They left Florida with points on the board and a renewed sense of direction. Now, with the cars being prepared for Montreal, team principal James Vowles has made clear that the development push is far from over.

As our Miami 2026 team-by-team upgrade review highlighted, the reshuffle in the pecking order that weekend was felt across the paddock — and Williams were among those who made tangible strides forward.

"A Nice Sizeable Amount of Performance"

"We have more performance coming from Montreal," he said. "Again, it's an odd situation where we've got these two weeks and we want to maximise these two weeks to the best of our ability, or three before the grand prix. And so, the pipeline is a little bit still up in the air as to what we can 100% deliver for that, but there could be a nice sizeable amount of performance."

However, Vowles was measured in his optimism, acutely aware that Williams will not be the only team pushing hard on development in the intervening weeks before Montreal.

"The reality is, though, I think other teams — Mercedes, Audi, maybe Haas — will bring performance as well at the same time," he acknowledged. "So, it's just what we're bringing. Is it sufficient to maintain ground against those three teams? And it's hard to predict that right now."

Weight Reduction Remains Part of the Plan

Beyond the aerodynamic gains, Vowles pointed to a broader and ongoing programme of development that extends into vehicle dynamics and weight reduction. The team has been open about the fact that they brought an overweight car to the start of the 2026 season — a deficit they are now working to systematically address, round by round.

"I'm happy with what we've got in the pipeline. I'm happy with what we've got in terms of a programme both with weight reduction and aerodynamic developments as well as vehicle dynamic events," Vowles said. "But it's hard to know where that will position us."

Williams currently sits eighth in the constructors' championship with five points — just nine adrift of Racing Bulls, the sister team to Red Bull Racing. The gap is small enough to be bridgeable, but the competition is intensifying. Whether Montreal provides the platform to close it further will depend not just on what Williams bring to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but on how aggressively their rivals respond in kind.