Vowles admits Williams feared losing both Sainz and Albon amid 2026 car crisis

Williams team principal James Vowles has admitted he feared losing both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon as the team’s disastrous 2026 campaign threatened to unravel his driver line-up, before the pair signed contract extensions earlier this week. Albon agreed a deal through the 2027 season, while Sainz put pen to paper on a multi-year extension.

“[I was] concerned about losing both, because they are world championship material drivers that deserve the opportunity to be fighting for podiums or more,” Vowles said at Zandvoort. “We haven’t delivered that.”

The admissions underline how severely Williams’ 2026 car project has misfired. After showing genuine progress in 2025 — the season that persuaded Sainz to join the team in the first place — the Grove outfit has slipped towards the back of the grid, exposing what Vowles described as procedural deficiencies within the organisation.

“For us to move backwards isn’t just a surprise to the drivers, it’s a surprise to everyone,” he said. “And that will always create risk that we lose them.”

Vowles was quick to credit both drivers for their response to the team’s difficulties. Rather than seeking exits, Sainz and Albon visited the factory, addressed staff, and offered their support before eventually committing to new deals. “The moment we had problems, they stood by our side. It wasn’t finger pointing, it was actually ‘tell me what I can do’,” Vowles said.

The wider driver market offered limited alternatives for either man. With Max Verstappen renewing at Red Bull and most top teams retaining their line-ups, meaningful upgrades were scarce. But Vowles insisted the extensions reflected genuine belief in the project rather than a lack of options.

“They want this to be a part of them that is here on a turnaround of this organisation,” he said. “And I’m thankful for that. But it’s also an indication of what we’ve shown them in the back end of what’s happened and what we’re doing about it.”

For a team that has spent years rebuilding its infrastructure and finances, keeping two drivers Vowles considers capable of competing for podiums — and more — represents a significant vote of confidence, even if the 2026 season itself has been a painful setback.