Sainz reveals extent of Williams’ F1 struggles: ‘We don’t have a car capable of scoring points’

• Carlos Sainz admits Williams currently does not have a car capable of scoring points after another disappointing weekend in Austria, where reliability and lack of pace continued to hamper the team.
• Despite identifying setup improvements that made the FW48 more comfortable to drive, Sainz stressed Williams remains well off the midfield and faces significant performance challenges.
• Alex Albon expects a Silverstone upgrade package to provide some progress, although he believes it will only bring Williams closer to Haas rather than back into regular points contention.

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The Austrian Grand Prix marked another difficult weekend for Williams, with Carlos Sainz delivering the blunt assessment that the team currently does not “have a car capable of scoring points.”

At the Red Bull Ring, both Sainz and teammate Alex Albon were eliminated in Q1, qualifying ahead of only Formula 1 newcomers Cadillac and the struggling Aston Martin outfit. Sainz’s race then ended prematurely with an electrical issue, while Albon limped home in 17th, two laps behind the race winner.

The disappointing result came despite some optimism after qualifying, where Sainz revealed the team had identified and addressed several issues with the FW48.

“We discovered a couple of things yesterday evening and before qualifying that weren’t working quite right,” the 31-year-old told Spanish broadcaster DAZN.

“We managed to fix them and, honestly, today I was at least having a good race. I was fighting cars I didn’t expect to be fighting – the Audis, the Alpines, the Haas’ – and I was able to hold them off. So that’s the positive I take away: the pace.”

However, Sainz stressed that any positives had to be viewed within the context of Williams’ current struggles, admitting there are no quick fixes for a team that entered Formula 1’s new regulations with high expectations.

“Let’s not kid ourselves, positive only within the context of the level of performance we have right now, which is very poor,” Sainz added.

“It’s positive because this weekend I wasn’t comfortable with the car, and then I changed a couple of things before qualifying and a few more before the race, and that got me back to where I was in Barcelona and in the previous races, where I felt comfortable – at least with the limited performance we have.

“So, I’m at least reassured by that. But hopefully this will be the last of these really bad weekends where everything has gone wrong. Because in the end we don’t have reliability, we don’t have pace, we don’t have a car capable of scoring points, so we’ll have to wait and see if things improve at Silverstone.”

Despite finishing fifth in the constructors’ championship last season — the team’s best result since 2017 — and having both Sainz and Albon finish inside the top 10 of the drivers’ standings, Williams has endured a disappointing start to the 2026 campaign with an overweight and uncompetitive FW48.

The car has regularly struggled to escape Q1, while Williams has managed just 11 points from the opening eight rounds, leaving the Grove-based team eighth in the constructors’ championship.

Speaking after the Austrian Grand Prix, Albon hinted that a significant upgrade package is planned for Williams’ home race at Silverstone, although he tempered expectations over its likely impact.

“It’s not going to get us to the midfield, but it will get us maybe closer to the Haas,” Albon said.

“I think that’s maybe a sensible first step this year to get a little bit closer to the midfield cars. We got lapped by the RBs today, so… We’re quite a far way away.”

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Written by

Jawad Yaqub

An eCommerce Specialist by day and reporting on F1 by night. Jawad is passionate about motorsport, having provided accredited F1 coverage for more than a decade and is a member of the AIPS (International Sports Press Association). Live blogging (almost) every grand prix too since 2014, as well as articles on the Supercars Championship. Also keen on sustainability, photography, collecting vinyl, (trying to) expertly barbeque and learning to Dad.

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