Williams’ boss admits the harsh reality for Sainz and Albon: “It is incredibly painful”

One of the great disappointments of the new era of F1 that has begun in 2026 is being Williams. and his boss, James Vowleswanted to address his fans publicly and also his drivers, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albonthrough a video that talks about the difficult sporting situation that the Grove team is going through.

The legendary English team was the great sensation at the beginning of the year just a year ago, with a car that allowed it to lead the middle zone and even with which Carlos Sainz He was able to achieve two Sunday podiums and one in the sprint.

In the process of team growth, Vowles assured M.D. in 2025 that they were improving the infrastructure of the group and improving in each area with the aim of being able to fight among the best from 2028.

They then decided to be one of the first teams to abandon the 2025 car and not evolve it further to focus all their efforts on creating a competitive car that would allow them to lay the foundations for a better future in the new era of regulations. They wanted to start with that position of dominance in the middle zone and grow from there.

But there were still problems with the plan to solve. They did not know it, but they were detected in the preseason, when they had problems in the production of the car that generated delays. In the end, they took a very uncompetitive and very heavy car to the track, and the real first car that they should have taken at the beginning of the year, they put on the track in the Miami race. It seemed like an important step forward to start fighting for points, but the greater and constant improvement of their rivals has brought them back to square one. Now, Sainz and Albon drive a Williams that is far from the points. And it seems that it will continue to be like this until the end of the course.

But above all, What worries Carlos Sainz the most is that the improvements presented on the track have not represented a step as big as that of his opponents.. I doubted if there was any problem in terms of understanding these rules or simply improving the cara crucial aspect to grow. And arriving at the summer break, Carlos admits that the team must now focus on creating a good car for 2027aware that there is no time to turn around this year’s situation. Vowles confirmed it.

That leaves Sainz in a paradoxical situation that happens a lot in F1. It is performing at a very good level, extracting the maximum potential of the car, “but it does not shine”, as Sainz himself reiterates.. That performance is hidden by the poor results.

And in that context, James Vowles wanted to show his face on social networks with a painful video for his fans.

Vowles’s words

“It has been an incredibly difficult first half of the year. First of all, a thank you to the entire team who has worked tirelessly to get ahead after a difficult start”James said.

“This winter has revealed all our shortcomings in an unexpected way. This has set us back quite a bit and we are doing everything we can during this season, but the reality is that we must ensure that everything is in order for 2027 and beyond. “It’s a titanic job.”said the Briton, making it clear that his drivers do not deserve a car like that.

“They have been by our side at all times and have remained steadfast despite the difficulties we have put them on the track. They are two incredible drivers. “They deserve to fight for points, at least, every weekend, and we have not allowed them to do so.”he said about Sainz and Albon.

“Baku is coming, it will be a step forward, but it simply won’t be enough to put us in the right place this season”he pointed out. There, in Baku, Williams will take what should be the latest evolution of his car, but Sainz already warned that it would not represent a big leap.

“We need to lay the right foundations, build on the foundations we already have, correct the aspects that clearly fail and come back strong in the future. Days like today are the ones I don’t want to repeat. “It’s incredibly painful.”James finished.