Williams team principal James Vowles has conceded that the upgrades introduced at the British Grand Prix failed to deliver the expected level of performance, admitting the weekend at Silverstone exposed several new areas of concern for the Grove outfit.
Vowles offered an assessment of the team’s development progress following a challenging home race during the latest episode of The Vowles Verdict. Despite the tireless efforts of the factory to bring new parts to the car, the on-track reality did not match the team’s initial expectations.
“In Silverstone, we worked diligently, day and night to bring performance to the car,” the Briton explained, keeping a positive outlook on the situation. “I think in part it helped, but nowhere near to the level we needed or perhaps even should have done.
“For me, right now that creates nothing more than the will and desire to get stuck into it because I suspect there’s a lot more performance we can unlock as a result of it.
“But right now, the work that’s going on is across these next seven to 14 days digging into what we understand and know and making changes as required for the forthcoming grand prix.”
Franco Colapinto, Alpine, Carlos Sainz, Williams
He added that Silverstone brought up more unknowns for the team. “We take stock of everything that we know that is data-driven and factual, but conversely create buckets of unknowns, of which there were a number and a little bit more coming out of Silverstone than we had previously.”
Williams has had a tough start to the 2026 season. It missed the private testing held in Barcelona at the end of January and arrived at pre-season testing in Bahrain on the back foot with an overweight car.
The Vowles-led team is currently eighth in the constructors’ championship with 11 points after the first nine rounds. Drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon sit 15th and 16th in the drivers’ championship with six and five points, respectively.
The Belgian Grand Prix (17-19 July) will kick off the final double-header before the summer break in August, followed by the Hungarian Grand Prix (24-26 July).
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