(Motorsport-Total.com) – Due to the ongoing Williams crisis, team principal James Vowles is coming under increasing pressure. At least expert Ralf Schumacher believes that the Brit could lose his job if the traditional racing team does not manage to turn things around by 2026.
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“It’s getting tight,” says Schumacher in the podcast Backstage Boxengasse from Sky about the current situation at Williams and explains: “You can tell the mood in the team is turning.” Alexander Albon is “totally down” and Carlos Sainz is also “no longer positive.”
At the last race before the summer break in Hungary, both Williams drivers were eliminated in Q1 during qualifying. In the race on Sunday, they finished 17th and 18th with two laps down among 19 drivers who saw the checkered flag.
For Williams, it was already the fifth race in a row without points. “We like James Vowles very, very much,” emphasizes Schumacher and explains: “I would also wish him to manage it. However, I fear he will no longer have the time.”
Short turnaround not lasting
“Something really needs to happen soon. But I believe the investors’ patience is now running out,” says the expert, who sees more setbacks than progress at Williams. He recalls that the team had a “terribly bad start” in 2026.
Williams missed the shakedown in Barcelona in winter and entered the new Formula 1 season with, among other things, a significantly overweight car. Nevertheless, they managed to score points in three consecutive races in Miami, Canada, and Monaco.
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However, the turnaround was not lasting, as the points in the Principality at the beginning of June were also the last to date. That was almost two months ago now. Since then, Schumacher sees no progress with his former team.
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Williams has repeatedly pointed out in recent weeks that they will bring “almost a completely new car” by the race in Baku. But Schumacher apparently lacks belief that this will bring the big turnaround.
Baku updates as last chance?
“I don’t see a solution at the moment. I also wouldn’t know how James Vowles would manage it now,” says the expert. In fact, there also seem to be internal doubts that the “B-version” of the FW48 will achieve a big step forward.
Most recently in Silverstone, Williams already brought a new front wing, which, however, did not work as hoped there. And Alexander Albon explained after the race in Hungary that the Williams package for Baku would not be as extensive as the latest update from Aston Martin.
The team around Fernando Alonso made a big leap forward thanks to the Budapest upgrade. The Spaniard qualified for Q2 on Saturday and also finished the race on Sunday ahead of the two Williams drivers. Albon fears there will not be such a big improvement at Williams.
Vowles himself recently emphasized that he considers it “realistic” to catch up the gap to the fastest teams in the midfield over the course of the year. At least Ralf Schumacher, who drove for Williams in Formula 1 between 1999 and 2004, currently lacks belief in this.
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