Williams’ 2026 car had infamously been overweight after Formula 1 switched to a new technical ruleset, but a brand-new chassis introduced at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has provided substantial performance.
Carlos Sainz was consistently quick in Baku, finishing 11th in Q1, then ninth in the next two segments of qualifying. Williams had never done so well this year – its best results had been Sainz’s 10th place in sprint qualifying in Montreal and Alex Albon’s 11th position in Monaco.
