(Motorsport-Total.com) – Alex Albon is realistic after the first races of the season. The Williams driver confirms what has long been known internally: The FW48 is still significantly too heavy.
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The car is said to be around 28 kilograms above the prescribed minimum weight of 768 kilograms. This costs valuable time per lap and pushes Williams down to ninth place in the constructors’ standings.
“We have an aggressive program to get the weight off the car,” says Albon, but at the same time warns against excessive expectations. The step from Japan to Miami was smaller than hoped. Larger update packages are still to come according to the Brit, but they do not happen overnight.
Implementation of improvements difficult
Miami is traditionally considered a strong track for Williams. “Last year we finished fifth here,” recalls Albon. Nevertheless, he remains grounded: “Baby step by baby step. Let’s see if Canada goes similarly.” Only by mid-season, the driver expects, will Williams really find its rhythm.
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Team principal James Vowles explains why weight reduction takes so much time. The engineers have completed the development work, but the implementation into production-ready components is a complex process. “You have to combine that with aerodynamic updates, and that is the most efficient way within the budget cap,” says Vowles.
A particularly important step is planned for the summer. Williams plans to introduce a new “B-chassis” that must pass another FIA homologation crash test. The development phase is expected to extend until the Italian Grand Prix in Monza at the beginning of September.
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Missed shakedown lingers
The goal is ambitious: The team wants to get below the minimum weight to achieve better balance and less tire wear through targeted ballast. Albon himself has openly named the structural causes of the difficult start to the season. The missed shakedown in Barcelona at the end of January, four failed crash test attempts with the FW48, and internal bottlenecks in the factory had compounded.
“One thing led to another, and suddenly we were significantly behind,” he says. Important aero tests, which are normally done during the shakedown, had to be shifted to the season program and there consume valuable FP1 and FP2 time.
Carlos Sainz also speaks frankly. The Spaniard emphasizes that positive interim steps must not be an excuse for declining effort. “We know that we are far behind our own expectations. We have to dig deep and work hard.” Sainz sees every improved result as an important internal signal showing the team that consistent work bears fruit.
Front midfield realistic?
“Williams is a team capable of much more than what we are currently showing,” says Sainz. He expects to see the full potential only in the last third of the season. After fifth place in the constructors’ standings in 2025 and two podiums for Sainz in Azerbaijan and Qatar, the internal expectations are clearly defined.
Vowles recently also dispelled illusions. With the current FW48, no major successes are expected until the end of the season. However, the development curve is pointing upwards, and with the planned B-chassis and consistent weight reduction, Williams should be able to reconnect with the front of the midfield by Monza.
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