Williams confirm major F1 upgrade package after Miami breakthrough

Photo: © IMAGO

Williams

Williams confirm major F1 upgrade package after Miami breakthrough

Are Williams still overweight?

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 11 May 2026 15:56

Williams F1 boss James Vowles has revealed that the team have got more upgrades coming to their car for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Williams have struggled all-season long with an overweight car, which Vowles himself said was more than 20kg over the minimum weight allowance.

That has meant that the car has been very slow, particularly in low speed corners and when it comes to acceleration.

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It has resulted in Williams being down in eighth in the constructors' championship, despite having finished fifth last year.

There was a lot of hope that Williams would be able to catch up to the top teams in the sport following the regulations reset ahead of 2026, but they have actually gone backwards, and are now struggling to score points.

However, following a five-week break from the sport caused by the cancellations of the Saudi Arabian and Bahrain Grands Prix, Williams arrived at last weekend's Miami GP with plenty of upgrades and, despite their car still being overweight, they managed to achieve a double points finish in the grand prix.

Carlos Sainz finished ninth, while team-mate Alex Albon was 10th.

Now, Vowles has said that the team's job now is to build on this, and they have upgrades coming in future races that should help them to be closer to where they were last year.

"A better weekend for us in Miami," Vowles told the Vowles Verdict following the weekend.

"We’ve used the last five weeks to bring a good number of improvements to the car in Miami. Part of those was aerodynamic development, so a new floor, new bodywork. There were some more elements on the front wing, modified rear suspension, exhaust blowing.

"Some elements behind the scenes that you won’t be seeing, but just on ways of working, how to get data out, how to maximise the performance of the car.

"In total, there’s around about 30 performance projects that we’ve been working diligently on over the last five weeks to bring.

"The good news is, as we go through into Canada and beyond, some of those projects, will still be on track to be delivered and bring the performance up again.

"What we can control is what we have available to us, and that is what we can bring in terms of performance and updates over the next two rounds to ensure that we’re just stepping forward relative to the field in small steps every time.”

"We have more performance coming for Montreal. Again, it’s an odd situation where we’ve got these two weeks, and we want to maximise these two weeks to the best for our ability, or three before the grand prix.

"I’m happy with what we’ve got in the pipeline. I’m happy with what we’ve got in terms of a program, both with weight reduction and aerodynamic developments, as well vehicles dynamic events."

Sainz happier with car, but not weekend progress

Sainz has been a picture of frustration for much of the 2026 season so far. He's not been happy with the new regulation changes, but has also been berating his team's lack of progress after 2025.

Largely considered to be one of the most talented drivers on the grid, Sainz took a gamble on Williams after being replaced at Ferrari by Lewis Hamilton.

He is still the last Ferrari driver to have claimed a grand prix victory despite not having driven for them for 18 months, and at Williams last year he even secured more grand prix podiums than Hamilton.

But racing around the midfield is not where he wants to be, and on team radio at the Miami GP, Sainz could be heard slamming his team for not having progressed pace-wise as the weekend progressed. He was knocked out in Q2 and started the race down in 14th.

However, Sainz's recovery to ninth seemed to improve his mood, and the Spaniard was happy with the team's upgrades after the race.

"At least the upgrades work," Sainz told media after the race. "The weight of the car came a bit off, but we still know there’s a bit to go.

"We have a few bits and pieces coming for the next couple of races, so we’re going to keep the positives, and making sure we keep focusing on the negatives."

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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F1 Carlos Sainz Williams Miami Grand Prix Alex Albon James Vowles