Williams 2026 Preview: A chance for a historic new beginning?

Written by Maham Mir, Edited by Meghana Sree

As we count down to Formula One's 2026 season opener, our F1 writers preview each team's potential, expectations and goals ahead of the start of a new regulatory era for the sport. The Williams journey in recent years has been inspiring, with an impressive 2025 campaign, but do they have what it takes to get back to the front this year and live up to their historic legacy?

Credit: Formula One

After finishing P5 in the 2025 World Constructors’ Championship standings and claiming the title of ‘best of the rest’, the objectives for Williams could not be clearer coming into the new regulatory era. With a wealth of new sponsors and the start of a regulation period they have always targeted, both hopes and expectations are high for the nine-time world champions.

Following a steady upward trajectory, there can be no doubt that Williams has been in fine form over the last few seasons. Continuing their engine partnership with Mercedes, everything seems to be in place for a successful 2026, even if the season started in a less than ideal fashion.

Credit: Formula One

The driver lineup: Experience is key

Williams retained their driver line-up from 2025, consisting of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz. The two drivers have started over 350 races combined.

Sainz begins his second season at the team and his 11th season in the sport overall, bringing a wealth of experience to the Grove-based team where he scored 64 points last season. With an impressive two podiums in his first season with Williams, becoming the first driver since 2015 to achieve this feat, Sainz has delivered on almost all the expectations placed on his shoulders when he arrived at the start of 2025. 

Albon, since rejoining the grid in 2022, has become an integral part of Williams’ long journey towards the front. In 2025, Albon scored 73 points and became the first Williams driver to finish in the top eight of the World Drivers’ Championship standings since 2016. 

Credit: Formula One

Despite the ups and downs occurring in the garage next to him throughout recent years, including the mid-season departure of Logan Sargeant and the sudden arrival of teammate Franco Colapinto, Albon has remained an anchor for the British team. Seeing the success of his Spanish teammate, there is no doubt that consistency at the top of the field with the objective of podiums must be the target for the Thai driver.

For both Albon and Sainz, the main aim will be to retain the title of ‘best of the rest’ at the top of the mid-field and close the gap to the top four teams even further. After an incredibly impressive performance in 2025, finishing 45 points ahead of their closest competitors Racing Bulls, closing in on the front-runners must be considered the only logical next step.

What we learned from testing

Perhaps more so than any other team, Williams arrived in Bahrain with a point to prove after failing to take to the track for the Barcelona shakedown. In an official statement made by the team, “delays in the FW48 programme” were cited as the reason for the team’s absence.

However, arriving at the Bahrain International Circuit, Vowles insisted that the “mood has lifted” especially after a positive six days of testing following the team’s filming day at Silverstone. 

Additionally, Vowles added that “the car ran faultlessly just from start to finish, and actually no major vices which is what we’re hoping for here”.

Using the Mercedes power engine, rumoured to be the most superior out of the five engines on the grid, the team enjoy reassurances on reliability from the works team. Additionally, they enjoy the benefit of seeing the data collected from other Mercedes customer teams as well. 

Credit: Formula One

Across the first and second pre-season testing sessions in Bahrain, the team were able to successfully complete 368 laps. Albon’s quickest time was logged as a 1:34.555 while Sainz went two-tenths quicker with a 1:34.342. 

Although Williams seemed unchallenged at the top of the mid-field in 2025, it looks as though their competitors such as Haas have taken a step closer to them in terms of performance. 

Team expectations for 2026

2026 was always the target for both the drivers and Team Principal Vowles. However, even with their positive results in recent years and their optimistic approach, Vowles has made it clear that “we’re not championship-level across the board”.

Vowles, who previously worked at Mercedes as their Motorsport Strategy Director, brings a wealth of experience in the same way his chosen drivers in Albon and Sainz bring experience to the team. His time at the Silver Arrows has made it clear to him that “what we did last year [2025] is a nice baseline” however “we need to nudge it forward from there”.

Credit: Formula One

Williams are not alone in seeing this regulatory era as an opportunity to overturn the existing order in F1. After the Bahrain pre-season test, Sainz said: “We’re still not at the level we need to be, and at least the beginning of the season will be tough.” 

However, like his Team Principal, Sainz made it clear that a bad or difficult start to the season does not determine everything. He identified: “But it’s also what they always say: it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”

Credit: Formula One

2026 will be nothing short of an uphill climb for the team if they intend on following through on their aspirations in becoming world champions in the next few years. With the competition growing ever closer between the mid-field teams, and the regular front-runners already seeming a touch ahead, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain for Williams.