Alex Albon has admitted that next year’s Formula 1 rule changes could prove to be a hurdle to current progress shown by Williams, citing Mercedes as an example.

The Grove-based squad is enjoying its best F1 season for some time, currently heading up the midfield battle, sitting fifth in the the Constructors’ Championship.

18 points clear of Aston Martin in sixth, Williams has been able to boast top 10 finishes in all but four of the 14 rounds so far, with 54 of those points scored by Albon.

After being one of F1’s most competitive teams after Mercedes when the V6 hybrid era began in 2014, the team began to suffer a significant lull amid its sale by the Williams family.

The ground effect period of this era, which commenced in 2022, has seen little progress either, but Williams have now begun to crack the code.

However, next year sees the introduction of some of F1’s most radical technical regulation changes in its 75-year history, something that concerns the Anglo-Thai driver.

“It is, it is [a concern],” Albon told RacingNews365./

“A good example would be Mercedes. On the last generation of cars, they had a car that they dominated, and then they didn’t.

“I think the best teams still find a way. They still seem to be able to get everyone together, be adaptable, go up and still fight their way back up to the top.”

Williams ‘have foundations to bounce back’

Albon is natrually chomping at the bit to get the team back to where it used to proudly place itself – at the very top of F1.

The 29-year-old has been a focal part of its steady progress towards the midfield, having impressed amid its difficult periods since joining the team in 2022.

But Albon believes that even if the rule changes may truncate the team’s current upward trajectory, there is a good platform which should make it just a temporary blip.

“I think as a team, if I look at where we were three years ago and you asked me, ‘what happens if you plateau? What would happen there?’” he said.

“I would be like ‘yeah, that’s a talking point’. But now, we’re not there yet, but we’re in such a healthier position.

“Even if next year is not where we want to be, I still feel like we’ve got good foundations to bounce back.

“We still want to improve [the foundations], and we are.

“The amount of movement at Grove is huge, so as long as I still believe in the project, I’m happy to. I don’t want it to wait, but I’m happy to wait.”

READ MORE – How Aston Martin is preparing for the challenge of F1 2026

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Alex Albon has praised Williams boss James Vowles for transforming the Formula 1 team’s culture and for lifting a lingering “doom and gloom”.

The 46-year-old joined the Grove-based squad ahead of the 2023 season, with the team amid perhaps the lowest ebb of its recent history.

Vowles has steadied the ship, and with Albon leading the line in its driver rosters, Williams has shown signs of slow but sure progress.

And 2025 has most certainly been its headiest season in a long while, currently lying in fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

With Albon and Carlos Sainz managing to earn top 10 finishes in all but four of the 14 rounds, it currently has 70 points, more than in the last three seasons combined.

Albon is in no doubt that Vowles’ presence has ensured a complete change in mentality at the team from his first season there in 2021.

“The biggest thing is the culture of the team,” the Anglo-Thai driver told RacingNews365.

“You walk into Grove, it looks the same, but you go inside and it feels different.

“So, when I think about the biggest difference, it’s purely when I remember my first time at Williams.

“Going to the factory, no one was very confident, people were talking badly about themselves, which is never a good sign.

“Possibly a bit stuck in their old ways, and just a bit doom and gloom, really.”

Albon celebrates the ‘freedom’ and lack of ego at Williams

Albon explained that Vowles’ methodical approach to running the team has enabled and encouraged a feeling of “openness” within the ranks at Grove.

“So you get this feeling, he talks about this a lot, of breaking everything down and seeing how it builds back up,” he added.

“And so there’s a freedom and a kind of an openness to everything that we go about our racing, there’s no ego involved.

“And the feedback and the work that we do as drivers really gets taken on. And there’s just this energy to be better.

“And so I think that culture definitely wasn’t there when I first joined. And now it’s great because you have, I won’t call it a young team, but it’s been rejuvenated in terms of it’s just, it’s energy, it’s a really exciting place to be.”

READ MORE – Williams reveals the precise moment development fully switched to 2026 F1 car

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Williams has drawn a clear line under its 2025 campaign, with boss James Vowles revealing the precise moment development focus shifted entirely to Formula 1’s next regulation cycle.

The British outfit has continued its steady rise this season, holding the coveted fifth spot in the midfield battle at the summer break.

Alex Albon was instrumental in that charge, delivering a blistering start with 40 points from the opening seven rounds. Momentum stalled, however, with a dip in form from Monaco onwards, compounded by a string of cooling issues that hampered the team through Austria and Canada.

However, the team eventually overcame reliability issues and bounced back in style in the cooler conditions of Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps – another 15 points to its tally.

A disappointing weekend in Hungary, finishing in 14th and 15th, concluded the first part of the season for Williams. Yet there is no panic amongst the team to bring further upgrades to the FW47, as Vowles revealed development focus shifted to 2026 way before the season even began.

“Everything is switched off – it’s already done, it’s decided,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “And that was done in agreement with the shareholders.

“I really enjoy the fact [that] we’re fifth this year. I think it’s a fantastic element for ourselves, for our partners, for anyone that’s associated with us.

“But the goal of this team is to win world championships, and you’re simply not going to do that by continuing fighting for a position or two in a constructors’ championship. So that decision was taken in January.

“That’s it. We’re not doing anything more and won’t do anything more. And if that results in us being sixth in the championship or seventh, so be it.”

Vowles defines the day Williams turned to F1’s future

While short-term results remain valuable, Vowles has made it clear that Williams’ true priority lies further ahead. The team’s focus has already shifted away from the FW47 and onto the all-new era of regulations.

The British chief even defined the moment of transition to the exact date: “January 2nd, and the FW48 was in the wind tunnel for nearly every single hour that we could. Simple as that. It’s not that we didn’t do any work on the 47. There’s a little bit of work. But you get the idea.”

Looking further ahead, attention inevitably turns to 2026 and the balance of performance between chassis and power unit.

With many in the paddock fearing that engine performance alone could dictate the next championship fight, Vowles remains confident that there will still be significant gains to be made elsewhere.

“I don’t think we’re going to have the gaps we had in 2014 on power units to be completely clear,” he added.

“I don’t think it’s going to be anywhere near that amount – I think power units, up until probably the last three years, have probably dominated most championships, would be a second argument I bring to your attention.

“But in answering it, what you’re saying is, could the chassis be up to half a second difference? Yes, is the answer.

“That’s what we’re seeing at the moment. There’s still lots of goodness that you can consume in that area. Where it falls out, I don’t know yet. We’re just trying to do our best to get up there.”

READ MORE – Williams insists Alex Albon ‘a completely different animal’ from Red Bull F1 spell

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Williams boss James Vowles has branded Alex Albon a “completely different animal” compared to his ill-fated stint with Formula 1 rivals Red Bull.

The Anglo-Thai driver was signed by the Grove-based squad for the 2022 season, having spent the previous year out of F1 after his unsuccessful stint with the Austrian giants.

Albon has been a constant presence within the team as it has slowly morphed from back-of-the-grid no-hopers to midfield hopefuls.

It may have been considered a gamble of sorts to hire Albon after his Red Bull sidelining, which saw his F1 career at a crossroads.

But Vowles has seen the progression in the 29-year-old, and said his performances have prompted the team to ensure he is given a car worthy of matching his capabilities.

“I would say first and foremost, Alex, I think I’ve described this fairly aptly, but in 23, he took a major step up and then he’s stepped up every year,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “That’s my impression of him.

“He has stepped up every year, but he’s always been immensely quick.

“Our first job is making sure we provide him a car that’s able to achieve the results, which is what we’ve done, I believe, this year for the first time.

“Second to that, the way I adjudicate Alex is he hasn’t really put a foot wrong.

“I struggle to look at a race where, or a qualifying where, he hasn’t done what’s required of him where has been our influence as a result of that.

“And even when things go wrong, he’s so incredibly mentally strong that he deals with it and comes back the next day and wants more.

“So answering the question, yes, I see an Alex that is absolutely flying at the right level. And we know that Carlos is a benchmark. That’s a fact. And Alex is performing relatively well.”

Williams praises Albon for mental resilience

Vowles acknowledged that his time at Red Bull saw him, like those before and since, fail to match the speed of its outright number one driver, Max Verstappen.

When asked if he miscalculated the amount of progression he has made, Vowles used the Dutchman as a benchmark, saying “if you put him up against Max today, he would be a completely different animal to what was there before.”

“And I think that’s the clear element behind him,” he added. “And the way I’m perhaps adjudicating him isn’t just about how fast he is in the car, because that’s how he always has been, but actually how resilient he is to other things going wrong around you and how strong he is in that circumstance.

“That’s what I meant by he’s delivering every time.

“So I think his peak level, which is probably how he’s due to get himself, has he gone up a lot? Probably not.

“Is the ability to get there every time there? Yes, that’s what I’m seeing.”

READ MORE – The measure Williams has taken to help drivers prepare for brand-new 2026 F1 cars

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Carlos Sainz has insisted Williams’ resurgence in Formula 1 in 2025 has cemented the conviction that he made the right decision to choose the team 12 months ago.

Sainz’s arrival at Williams has coincided with an upturn that has culminated in the team picking up more points than it had over the previous three seasons combined.

However, Sainz has seldom had a chance to capitalise on Williams’ improvement with the FW47 as various issues outside his control have restricted him to 16 points.

Alex Albon has had a more seamless experience this season, though, with his 54-point total enough to have Williams residing fifth in the Constructors’ Championship.

Sainz, who was in high demand when it was revealed Lewis Hamilton would replace him at Ferrari, reckons that turnaround has vindicated his choice to pick Williams.

But outside the team’s competitiveness in the short-term exceeding his expectations, Sainz has also been encouraged by the progress being made behind the scenes.

“I definitely felt last year, when I took the decision, Williams was ninth in the championship and there was less certainty that maybe Williams was the right choice in my career,” Sainz recalled to media including Motorsport Week.

“Now I think a year on I’m very confident of the decision I took. I’m very glad looking at the progress the team is showing and the momentum we’re building into 26.

“Looking at everything that’s been done in the team in ’26, ’27, ’28 which is why I came to this team.

“I didn’t come to this team for the results of ’25. I came for the potential of ’26, ’27, ’28.

“I think the more I see what’s being done and the more I am with the team the better it looks.

“At the same time there’s a lot of things to work on and to improve as a team. There’s a very long list of things that we’re trying to get through and work on.

“I’m happy with that decision and I think we just need to keep our head down and at some point the results of ’25 will give momentum going into ’26.”

Sainz clear on Williams target for 2025

Williams still holds an 18-point cushion over the chasing pack, despite the team’s pace advantage diminishing as the competition has continued to improve their cars.

Sainz is striving to have a smoother end to the campaign to help the Grove-based squad go into the impending rules change as the closest rival to the leading quartet.

“For me, it would be, I think, as a team, a successful year to score fifth in the Championship and show massive progress,” the Spaniard added.

“Again, it would show a positive direction of the team, the gathering momentum into ’26 with all the big changes that are happening and everything that we are investing into ’26.

“For me, it’s important that even if I’m taking my time to adapt to the team and the car… I don’t think I took my time to adapt to the car, I think I was quite quick straight away.

“It’s just getting results and putting things together that has been a struggle since the beginning of the year.

“Still in Race 12, it doesn’t seem like we’re getting any better at putting things together, but it will come at some point.

“In the meantime, I’ll just keep my head down and I’m pretty sure the result is about to come.”

READ MORE – Why Williams harbours ‘shared frustration’ with Carlos Sainz over 2025 F1 setbacks

The post Why Carlos Sainz has total conviction about Williams F1 move appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Williams Sporting Director Sven Smeets has praised the “big impact” Carlos Sainz has made at the team since joining from Formula 1 rivals Ferrari over the winter.

The Spaniard was ousted by the Scuderia after it decided to replace him with Lewis Hamilton for this season, which was announced before the start of the last.

After a great deal of speculation as to where the 30-year-old would find himself next, the Grove-based squad convinced him to take a chance on its project to return to the top.

It has been, on the face of it, a difficult debut campaign for Sainz, scoring just 16 points so far, 38 less than team-mate Alex Albon.

But Smeets conveyed the unseen influence that Sainz has brought to the team, saying his years at a team like Ferrari are giving Williams an added ingredient.

“Carlos is a fantastic person to work with,” he told Motorsport.com.

“He’s made a big impact across the board – not just on the car and technical side, but also in how the race team operates and how we’re preparing for 2026. 

“His experience at multiple teams and in race-winning machinery has brought us something we were probably still missing.” 

Sainz recently discussed the “philosophy change” he feels Williams needs to return to being title challengers again.

It has been undeniably a learning curve for him to adapt to the inner workings of the team, and Smeets said that those adjustments are being made.

“As he mentioned himself, he had to get used to the philosophy of our car,” he continued.

“There’s a big difference between our car and the Ferrari. But that’s going better and better now.

“He’s working really well with Alex Albon. We’re very happy, and I’m expecting a strong second half of the season.” 

Albon had previously driven alongside Logan Sargeant and Nicholas Latifi, who, with the greatest of respect, lacked the skill and racecraft that Sainz possesses.

Smeets intimated that a more even balance in ability between the two men has given Williams a chance to showcase more equilibrium in how personnel work towards their demands.

“Both sides of the garage are now working at the same level – and more importantly, they’re working closely together,” he explained.

“We’re able to divide the workload better during FP1 and FP2, and combine the knowledge gained to decide what’s the best way forward for the rest of the weekend. That’s hugely valuable to us.” 

Albon and Sainz ‘pushing Williams hard’

Smeets added that both Sainz and Albon are asking a lot of the team, but on the same page, which is enabling the team to meet its goals that little bit more simply.

“On track, they’re competitors,” he said, “but in the garage it’s all about teamwork – pushing the team forward, improving the car and supporting the factory with its development.

“We now have two drivers pushing the team hard, and they’re doing so in the same direction, which makes things a bit easier.” 

The evenness between both drivers even comes down to how they set the FW47 up in a similar fashion, with Smeets saying their set-ups “aren’t far apart, that’s usually a good sign.”

“If they go in different directions, it might indicate something’s not quite right,” he elaborated.

“Over the first six months, he’s pointed out a lot of things we could do differently or better.

“Some are things we can only implement next year, but many short-term gains we’ve already adopted.” 

These can be even small things, such as, according to Smeets: “Preparing the tyres behind the garage – how you warm them and how you stack them.  

“Some of Carlos’ previous teams did that slightly differently in wet conditions.

“It’s about small details, but they can gain you milliseconds. And when that adds up, it becomes a tenth. That’s when it starts to matter.” 

It is not just the expertise on and off the track that Sainz is bringing. It is also the clout and popularity he brings which is quite literally paying dividends.

The Sainz factor enables Williams to reap financial rewards

“We did a demo run with Carlos in Madrid,” Smeets recalls. “They expected 5,000 to 7,000 fans, but 25,000 showed up.

“It ended up being one of our best merchandise sales days ever,” Smeets said.  

“When we started, they attracted around 500 to 1,000 fans,” Smeets said of fan events at Grands Prix.

“But if you look at the numbers we drew this year in Australia, Miami, Barcelona and London, those are now serious events in their own right.”

Smeets concluded that Williams, as a result, is now receiving even more interest from young drivers in relation to its academy programme.

“His arrival underlines how seriously we’re looking at the future, and that helps massively in our conversations with young drivers and their management teams.

“We’re now getting far more enquiries than before,” said Smeets, before adding that Williams remains selective for the programme.  

“We want to keep our focus on a handful of talents – ideally one per category. But Carlos has given a major boost to the entire project.” 

READ MORE – Carlos Sainz laments backlash towards Lando Norris’ openness on mental health

The post How Carlos Sainz has already made a ‘big impact’ at Williams appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Williams boss James Vowles believes that next year’s new Formula 1 regulations will not see large performance gaps between teams, as seen in 2014.

2026 will welcome the introduction of a brand new set of regulations in what will be the biggest shake-up of rules since the beginning of the V6 hybrid era 11 years ago.

An increased reliance on electric power, the removal of DRS and the reduction of ground effect are just some of the changes that will feature on the new cars.

Such was the magnitude of the new regulations in 2014, that huge differences between the successful and failed interpretations of them were on display.

Vowles, who was a key proponent of Mercedes’ success in that particular period, has said that dominance similar to what the German marque enjoyed is unlikely to be repeated.

“I don’t think we’re going to have the gaps we had in 2014 on power units to be completely clear,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “I don’t think it’s going to be anywhere near that amount.

“I think power units, up until probably the last three years, have probably dominated most championships would be a second argument I bring to your attention.

“But in answering it, what you’re saying is could the chassis be up to half a second difference? Yes, is the answer. That’s what we’re seeing at the moment.

“There’s still lots of goodness that you can consume in that area. Where it falls out, I don’t know yet. We’re just trying to do our best to get up there.”

The FIA’s single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis corroborated Vowles’ take, adding that he is somewhat unhappy with the lack of simplicity in the final regulations.

“I don’t think that we are going to have a situation where a single manufacturer has such a huge advantage as was the case in 2014,” he told Autosport.

“The engines are still not as simple as we would have liked. We would have liked to go further, but we had a lot of resistance against simplifying the regulations more.

“So there are things that we would have liked to be even simpler, but they are still simpler than the current generation of engines.

“They don’t have the MGU-H [heat energy recovery system], and there are a few things that have tighter limits, so we don’t think the gaps will be as big as in 2014.”

The solution to eradicate performance gaps in F1 2026

Tombazis explained that the FIA is introducing a concept known as Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities [ADUO].

This will help the newer manufacturers from falling behind the more established from gaining any significant advantage.

“We do have newcomers, and it is always a risk at the start of a new cycle that there is some divergence initially,” Tombazis said.

“Additionally, we have a cost gap for the PU manufacturers now.”

Tombazis explained that ADUO “has been the product of a lot of work,” adding: “It was already there from day one of the regulations, but in the last few months more detail has been put into it to define exactly how that is going to operate.”

“Essentially every five, six races there will be an average performance measured for each PU manufacturer,” Tombazis continued. “Those who are below a certain level, and depending on how much below they are, will get that benefit accumulating over the year.

“That benefit would translate into three things: one is additional development money, some more dyno hours and the possibility to make a new homologation of the engine.

“So people who are behind will have the opportunity to speed up and catch up.”

PU manufacturers ‘extremely collaborative’ on ADUO

Tombazis explained that ADUO will have little similarity to the Balance of Performance regulations, as seen in the World Endurance Championship.

“I want to stress that I completely refute any comment about that being a Balance of Performance or anything like that, because first of all, the regulations are exactly the same for everyone,” he said.

“It’s not like we are giving them more cubic capacity, more fuel or whatever.

“Secondly, if there was no cost cap, they would throw a lot of money at it.

“When Honda were behind in 2016, 2017, for a certain period they had to spend a lot more money to catch up.

“With a cost cap the risk is that you would never be able to do that, and that you would be behind eternally.

“You would just be humiliated for a whole regulation cycle, and clearly we don’t want that.

“We don’t think that would be fair, and I have to say that PU manufacturers have been extremely collaborative on this topic.”

Tombazis also revealed there will be an additional initiative in place to ensure teams that might suffer reliability issues will also be afforded leeway.

“There is an additional initiative which addresses the situation where a PU manufacturer has huge reliability issues to start with,” he highlighted.

“Imagine somebody who blows up an engine each race weekend and each engine costs a lot of money.

“They suddenly find that they are eating their cost cap with blown engines. They have to reduce the development to stay below the cost cap, and you can imagine that would be an awful situation.

“So we’ve got some initiatives, which are going through the same phase of discussion now, and will hopefully be approved quite soon, whereby once you use more than a certain number of engines, you start having a certain cost cap relief.

“Your engines, once you exceed that number, cost very little from a cost cap point of view.

“Not in terms of real money, of course, they still cost the same unfortunately, but it means that we protect them from a situation where somebody is in an awful position and has no way to react under the cost cap. That would be really unfortunate.”

READ MORE – Williams boss predicts ‘big driver market move’ for 2027 F1 season

The post Why F1 2026 will not see a repeat of 2014 performance gaps appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Williams boss James Vowles has predicted that the next “big driver market move” will materialise by the end of the 2026 Formula 1 season.

Red Bull’s struggles had threatened to unsettle the driver market as rumours ensued that Max Verstappen was angling for a possible move to Mercedes for 2026.

But at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Dutchman provided a temporary respite to the Milton Keynes-based squad as he reiterated his intention to race for the team.

Looking forward into the latest era of the sport, Vowles is of the opinion that Verstappen or any other big-name driver could completely rejig the grid for 2027.

“I think the end of 2026 will be another big driver market move,” he told Sky Sports F1. “A lot of contracts come up at that stage.”

The likes of Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly all have contracts ending by 2026, including Vowles’ own driver line-up consisting of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.

But he is confident that he can convince the duo to extend their alliance with the Grove-based squad, notwithstanding any potential reshuffles happening across the grid.

“Simple answer is this: I have two drivers who believe in what we’re doing in terms of the longevity of this team, the investment in this team and the direction to go back towards winning championships,” he asserted.

Why Vowles is sure he can retain Albon and Sainz

The pairing of Sainz and Albon has paid dividends for Vowles, who sees his team sit fifth in the Constructors’ standings, leading the midfield battle.

Naturally, moving into the 2026 regulations reset, the Briton would want continuity, especially after divulging his plans to build a sustainable and long-term project at Williams – something he began by signing Sainz, a proven Grand Prix winner, last year.

“My job in all of this is making sure they’re fairly rewarded for that journey and they want to be a part of that journey as well at the same time,” continued Vowles.

“That’s what I can provide and offer them.”

Albon’s stock in the paddock has been rising steadily since he signed with the Grove-based team in 2022.

He is widely regarded as a consistent, dependable, and fast driver, qualities which many team bosses would be willing to pay top dollar for.

But Vowles says Williams can offer its drivers something that not many other teams would be willing to.

“Now if someone wants to offer them twice that money, that’s there choice in doing so,” he added.

“But they are key leaders that are having direct impact on what this car looks like tomorrow and what it looks like in a year’s time, something not provided to a lot of drivers up and down the grid, almost treated as a separate asset, a separate entity that comes in.

“That’s not what we provide here. The second part of it is making sure we have conversations early enough in 2026 that this is where I want us to be for the future.”

READ MORE – Oscar Piastri insists 2026 F1 regulations require fine-tuning to produce ‘the best show’

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Alex Albon has revealed that Williams has set up an “active working group” to ensure that he and Carlos Sainz are best prepared to tackle Formula 1’s new 2026 rules.

The impending overhaul will see simultaneous changes to the chassis and engine regulations in a revamp that is considered among the biggest in the sport’s history.

There have been widespread reservations in several quarters, though, about the anticipated reduction in cornering speeds and the revised energy deployment system.

On the latter, Williams boss James Vowles has cautioned that work must be done across the upcoming months to alleviate the workload on the drivers in the cockpit.

Albon, who has experienced both the current and previous generation cars, has admitted that the 2026 challengers will be incomparable to what has come previously.

“I think it will be different to anything we’ve used before,” Albon told media including Motorsport Week.

“We will get used to it, that’s the job of the driver, but it is going to take some getting used to.”

Albon predicts increased winter simulator usage

Albon has predicted drivers will dedicate more time to the simulator over the winter break in order to get up to speed prior to their inaugural run in the actual 2026 car.

“Let’s just say, for example, our winter breaks that we spend, I don’t think it will be spent as casually as it was the previous few years where we’re training,” he added.

“I think there’s going to be so much more attention on simulator work that we’re going to be doing over the winter and making sure that we understand how it all works and trying different driving styles and things to make it work.”

Albon has divulged that Williams has established a group that is devoted to helping develop the understanding that he and Sainz have about the next-generation cars.

“I know, for example, at Williams we have an active working group,” the Anglo-Thai driver elaborated.

“We’re just working on how we can prepare the drivers as best as we can, giving us as much information and as much preparation as possible for next year.”

READ MORE – Alex Albon reveals how F1 drivers can ‘abuse the system’ of 2026 regulations

The post The measure Williams has taken to help drivers prepare for brand-new 2026 F1 cars appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Williams boss James Vowles has called for refinement on the forthcoming 2026 Formula 1 cars, stating drivers are currently experiencing a “very difficult” workload.

With 2026 fast approaching, teams have begun to increase their attention on perfecting their respective interpretations of the new regulations.

This is now dovetailed with drivers getting a first sampling of how the cars could feel via simulator runs, giving them an opportunity to give their take on it so far.

A big change is the increased use of electricity, with the V6 hybrids altered to ensure a 50-50 divide between that and internal combustion.

This has led to a range of views aired, the first and perhaps most notable coming from Charles Leclerc, who stated he was “not a fan”.

Williams driver Alex Albon gave his own take, saying there are ways that skilled drivers can “abuse the system”.

Vowles was on hand to deliver a typically measured response to this, saying that the early sim runs are an “indication” and promised Leclerc that “it gets better”.

Despite this, Vowles has acknowledged the difficulty faced by drivers, revealing the challenge Williams’ simulator drivers had to tackle in the initial runs.

“The first time any of our simulator drivers drove the 2026 regulations it was difficult, because it is a complete change on certain aspects of how you drive,” he told media including Motorsport Week.

“Then the second time it became more normal – still complaints. And by the fourth time, there really wasn’t much in terms of discussion over it. It just became the norm.”

Drivers are beginning to understand 2026 cars but still require a ‘fix’

Vowles advised those talking to drivers to exercise caution when asking about the 2026 cars, as the likelihood is that they are yet to grasp the necessary skills to extract maximum performance fully.

“So, what I ask everyone to do is be careful,” he continued. “Ask the driver how many times they’ve driven the simulator as you adjudicate their answer. I guarantee you it’s once.

“It’s probably the first initial response. And those that have driven it four or five are like: ‘I understand it now.’

Despite this, Vowles believes the cars are asking a lot of the drivers, and urged for the remaining half a year before they are driven for real to be used to ease the burden.

“Is it refined enough?” he asked. “We’ve got a lot more work to do to refine it, and we’ve got to make it easier on the driver, because I think the workload is actually very, very difficult for the driver at the moment.

“But we have another six months to run before we’re there, so I’m confident we can fix that.”

One positive Vowles did vocalise was allaying any possible concerns about a possible lack of on-track action.

‘Manual override mode’ replaces DRS from next year, which requires a different level of ability from drivers when it comes to using it.

But Vowles believes that it won’t hamper drivers when it comes to attempting overtakes.

“I think you’re going to get much bigger differences in straight-line speed on certain straights because of how much you can play with the energy and various modes,” he said.

“And so, I think at some point the overtaking could actually be accentuated, not hindered as a result of it.

“The racing concept actually means that if you have a faster car, I think there are more tools at your disposal as a driver to be able to use than this year, even including DRS in there.”

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