Japanese GP: Another difficult race for Williams F1 Team


By Williams F1 Team
March 29 2026

The 2026 Japanese GP would see the Atlassian Williams F1 Team come away with set of results that were the best they could achieve on the day. Carlos Sainz would finish 15th while Alex Albon was 20th. For Alex his race would end up becoming pretty much a test session while for Carlos he was stuck in a group of cars from which the pace of the FW48 did not allow him to make any real forward progress. Both drivers were satisfied with the efforts that the team has been making over the opening series of races but in reality the FW48 is lacking in performance. It is now down to what the team can bring in terms of updates to the car in the break leading up to the next race in Miami.

 
 Atlassian Williams F1 Team Japanese GP Race Review
 
Albon
 
Albon

Alex Albon:
"I was in traffic for the race so nothing really happened to me and it turned into a bit of a test session as we wanted to try a few things on the front wing to understand it a bit better and have some data. The car is feeling okay for what we have and the team has been working really hard to get it into a good position in these three weeks. Realistically we are achieving what we can achieve and executing our races as best as we can but we just need to get on top of some issues and get a bit more speed in the car. We have a lot of work to do but we have about five weeks now as a team so there's a lot that we can improve and I think this is going to benefit us so that we can come back stronger in Miami."

 
Sainz

Carlos Sainz:
"We got absolutely everything we could out of the car in the race today. Also, another solid start and good pitstop timing meant we did our best possible race, so I’m satisfied with that. The team and I are working well to understand this car and these regulations, and I feel like we’re going into this early break ready to make some real progress on the car's performance. We have to make sure we maximise these five weeks and head into Miami in a better position for the season ahead. Last but not least, very happy that Ollie is OK after that big impact."

 
Vowles

James Vowles, Team Principal:
"We need to maximise these next five weeks in front of us. It was a painful day today, and I want to make it a line in the sand and make sure we add performance every race going forward this year and fight back towards a point-scoring position every weekend. Well done to Carlos, it was a faultless drive and he did everything he could but that’s just where the car is today. And well done to Alex, he drove perfectly and then completed a test programme that will be invaluable for us for future learning. These next five weeks will be some of the hardest for us, purposefully so, as we dig deep and make sure that we come back with a car in Miami that is worthy of scoring points.

“On the huge accident for Ollie, I consider him a friend and I’m glad he has walked away with minor injuries. It’s a reminder to us that we need to make sure we’re not putting ourselves in this situation. He’s a great racer, I’m glad he’s ok, and I look forward to seeing him in Miami."

 
Sainz
 
Sainz
 
Suzuka Circuit, Japan | 5.807km
Pos Driver Summary
 
15 C Sainz • Started: P16
• Strategy: Medium to Hard (1 stop)
• Fastest lap: 1:34.514
20 A Albon • Started: P17
• Strategy: Medium to Hard (1 stop) followed by a testing programme
• Fastest lap: 1:33.427
 
Sainz
 

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