Carlos Sainz identifies fundamental Williams weakness

Points finishes are the target every weekend for the Grove-based operation, something that could not be said in previous years.

After spending years at the team battling for occasional points, Albon is now a regular top 10 feature.

Sainz is also often in the fight for points, although misfortune and operational errors have proven costly for the 30-year-old.

Beyond Sainz’s individual frustrations, the four-time winner believes there are foundational problems for Williams to address.

Despite their improved competitiveness, James Vowles’ squad continue to suffer at certain circuits.

Barcelona and Hungary are consistently “bogey tracks” for the team, something which both drivers have identified.

Sainz, much like teammate Albon, emphasises that Williams cannot become a top team if they head into some races with the expectation they will struggle.

Speaking after the Hungarian GP, Sainz told AS the importance of progressing ahead of 2026:

“We have some poor aerodynamic characteristics in long curves, where you need to maintain the load level from entry until halfway through the corner.

“These things fail us, it’s been a characteristic for a long time, because we perform better in short corners and straights.

“At tracks like Barcelona, Hungary or Qatar, the car suffers.

“A change in philosophy is needed in the design, to ensure next year’s car works well at different circuits.”

Williams aim to cling onto P5

As team principal James Vowles frequently emphasises, Williams have been focused on the 2026 regulations since the beginning of the year.

Many of the decisions taken last year were to ensure the FW47 would still be competitive in spite of the team focusing on 2026.

In this sense, the British outfit have been successful in hitting two birds with one stone.

Updates to the FW47 have been relatively scarce, and those which have arrived were designed before the season began.

For Williams to be 5th in the standings, first of the midfield teams, is even more impressive in this context.

Unfortunately for the Grove-based operation, rivals have taken considerable steps over recent months.

Just last weekend in Hungary, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson finished ahead of both Red Bull’s, a Ferrari (Hamilton) and a Mercedes (Antonelli).

All three drivers delivered big points for their respective teams, reducing Williams’ gap in the standings.

With another potentially unfavourable track in Zandvoort approaching, Carlos Sainz’ warning about 2026 could become even more apparent.