Williams targets almost entirely new car for Baku to rescue its troubled 2025 season

Williams team principal James Vowles has revealed the Grove-based outfit is targeting an “almost entirely new car” for the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, as the team looks to salvage a difficult start to F1’s new regulations era.

The FW48 was completed late and overweight ahead of the 2025 season, with Williams having redirected significant resources toward its 2026 car preparation last year. Those issues have compounded on track, leaving the team eighth in the constructors’ standings on just 11 points — ahead of only Audi, Aston Martin and Cadillac.

The situation deteriorated further in Austria, where Williams brought no upgrades and both drivers came away empty-handed. Alex Albon finished 17th, two laps down, while Carlos Sainz retired with an engine failure. Vowles acknowledged that standing still while rivals introduced updates cost the team ground in relative terms.

“I think that’s one of the big reasons why you’ve seen us fall back a bit,” Vowles said. “Our upgrade plans — we’ve got what I call a medium-sized [package] for Silverstone. And then there’ll be small bits for Spa, Budapest. Slightly bigger elements, including weight reduction, to Zandvoort. And then really for us, it’s almost an entirely new car for Baku. So that’s really the time period that we’re waiting for.”

The roadmap sets out a series of incremental steps before the headline package arrives. A medium-sized update is due at this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, followed by smaller additions at Spa and Budapest, and a more meaningful weight-reduction step at Zandvoort — but the transformative upgrade is still six rounds away.

Albon has tempered expectations around the Silverstone package, suggesting it will not be enough to bridge the gap to the midfield but may help Williams edge closer to Haas. “It’s not going to get us to the midfield, but it will get us maybe closer to the Haas,” he said after the Austrian GP. “I think that’s maybe a sensible first step.”

Williams is not alone in adopting a phased approach. Aston Martin has pursued a similar strategy, holding back on minor developments to concentrate resources on a larger upgrade package targeted at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.

For Williams, the Azerbaijan GP in late September represents the moment the team believes it can genuinely reset its competitive position — provided the overhaul delivers the performance and weight savings the FW48 has so far been unable to provide.