Williams’ Baku upgrade won’t fix 2026 pace, Vowles says
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 19, 2026
Williams upgrade package
Williams is bringing a major FW48 upgrade package to Baku, and the team sees the race as a key test of where the project stands. The update was delayed after the squad missed the Barcelona shakedown, but it now arrives with a clear purpose. Williams plans to run two new chassis and aerodynamic upgrades aimed at bringing the car’s mass below the limit. That matters because the team opened pre-season testing in Bahrain with an overweight car and then had to work through a flawed car as well. The Baku package is meant to do more than trim lap time. It is also meant to show whether Williams’ new processes and tools are working the way the team wants them to. Team principal James Vowles said the group had gone too long without adding performance and had fallen behind rivals. He framed the Baku effort as a checkpoint for the team’s development path, not as a cure-all for the problems that have built up around the car. Williams accepted a development compromise for the rest of the season and had already shifted most of its resources to the 2027 project, so the Baku parts have to serve two jobs at once. They need to improve the car now and they need to support the team’s longer view. That is why the race carries so much weight. It gives Williams a live read on whether the latest changes can move the project forward after a difficult start to the year and a long stretch of limited performance gains.
Vowles on progress
Vowles was blunt about what the package can and cannot do. He said the changes should bring only small steps this season and will not be enough to put Williams in a position to fight for points on a consistent basis. He also said the upgrades should help the team move forward on the grid next year. That distinction matters for Williams because the team has already paid a price for its early-season problems and the decisions it made to protect future work. Williams then had to choose between chasing every short-term gain and protecting the broader development plan. Vowles’ comments show that the Baku package is part of a rebuild, not the end of one. Williams wants the update to confirm that it has the right tools in place. It also wants proof that the lessons learned now can carry into the next phase of the program. The Baku test is supposed to show that the group can begin to reverse that trend, even if the payoff is limited in the short term.
Williams points fight
The results sheet shows how much ground Williams still has to make up. The team has scored 11 points in 14 rounds and sits ninth in the constructors’ standings. Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon have largely fallen out of the points, which leaves Williams looking for any update that can move the car closer to the midfield pack. Albon said Williams is about 50 seconds behind the midfield in race pace, a gap that underlines how much work remains. He said the Baku update should be a good step, but not a complete fix. Sainz gave a similar reading. He said the changes could help Williams fight for points, but the team is still far from where it wants to be. Those views line up with Vowles’ message. The package matters because it can show whether Williams is heading in the right direction, not because it will transform the season. Baku is the latest chance to prove the car can take a step forward after a stretch of uneven progress and missed opportunity. If the updates work, Williams can leave with clearer signs that its process is back on track. If they fall short, the team will still have to rely on the broader project and the resources already aimed at 2027.
