Speaking to media on Friday ahead of the F1 2026 Dutch GP, Williams team principal James Vowles opened up about the recent double contract extension for Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.
Sainz and Albon both extended their respective contracts with Williams this week, ending speculation regarding their future at the team.
After a promising 2025 season, the Grove-based outfit has struggled to find their footing across the first half of the season under the new regulations, leading to frequent disappointment for Albon and Sainz. The team is currently P9 in the Constructors’ standings, with a total of 11 points. By comparison, they sat in the upper midfield with 70 points this time last year.
Albon, a Williams driver since 2022, has agreed to stay on for another season, while Sainz committed to a multi-year extension after joining the team from Ferrari last season.
Williams slump left Vowles concerned about its driver line-up
Vowles acknowledged Albon and Sainz’s frustration, admitting he feared one or both of his “championship material” drivers might look elsewhere due to Williams’ recent performance slump.
“Concerned about losing both,” Vowles told the media in Zandvoort.
“Because they are world championship material drivers that deserve the opportunity to be fighting for podiums or more. And we haven’t delivered that, and more than that, we had a scope of where we were moving to.”
Vowles conceded that Williams’ trajectory throughout the first half of the 2026 season had created a legitimate reason for its drivers to question the project.
“I think that there’s no doubt if you sort of look to the outside, I hope there’s no doubt, outside world over the last few years, we’ve been slowly stepping forward, with last year being a blip, I think, too positive for where we were, but a step in the right direction,” he said.
“So for us to move backwards isn’t just a surprise to the drivers, it’s a surprise to everyone else in regard of it. And that will always create risk that you lose them.”
Sainz and Albon backed Williams through struggles
The Williams team boss also stressed that both drivers remained engaged and continued to support the team through its struggles.
“What I’m thankful for is 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 commented.
“And they both came into the factory, spoke to the whole organisation and gave them a lift.
“Carlos did the same and Alex did the same this week once they re-signed. They wanted to make sure that they were here with the team. They want this to be a part of them that is here on a turnaround of this organisation, 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.”
Keeping both drivers was a “weight lifted”
Vowles described retaining both Sainz and Albon as “incredibly important”, arguing that their decisions show they have faith in the Williams project, as the team needed to demonstrate that it had a credible plan for future improvement as an incentive to stay on.
“For me, incredibly important because…three reasons,” Vowles started.
“One, it shows the outside world—I can’t tell you everything that’s going on behind the scenes, but I can tell them. And if they are re-signing, it will give you an indication that there’s a lot of change ongoing; that they believe in what the future looks like. That belief is incredibly important, whether it’s for team members or for anyone in the outside world.”
He added that teams prefer stability, especially during periods of turbulence or change. Albon and Sainz are already familiar with the team members and the operational structures inside the Grove-based outfit, which made retaining the current line-up a priority for Vowles.
He continued: “Number two, that consistency is important because the team is really maturing and changing. And as much as you can keep consistent, especially in your driver line-up, it becomes desperately important in order to keep building on that.
“Probably the best way to summarise it to you is the factory—there’s a weight lifted off it this week as the result of it. And I’ve seen them move forward at a much faster pace as a result. So the belief is real and tangible.”
Vowles stresses Sainz and Albon are on “very different journeys” at Williams
Asked about the reasoning behind the staggered extension announcements ahead of the 2026 Dutch GP, Vowles stated that the approach reflected each driver’s specific circumstances, while also working around practical aspects.
“For me and for the drivers, it was important to state that they are different stories and different timings,” he explained.
“Also it helped me because Alex was in the simulator on Tuesday and Carlos on Wednesday. So I was able to show them to the team, and I didn’t have them both on the same day at the same time.
“But for me, they’re different journeys. Alex has been here since 2022—he has dedicated so much of his life to this project, and he wants it to be successful. And I think that’s one message in its own right. With Carlos, what he needed was to be demonstrated what’s happening behind the scenes, and he wanted to then commit into the long term. And it’s a very different set of arrangements that we have between the two of them.”
Determined to “fix” Williams to reward the drivers’ commitment
Vowles insisted the overall message from both contracts remained the same, highlighting that Williams still has significant work to do to reward the faith the drivers placed in the project.
“I think the messaging is no different, though,” he said. “We all have unfinished business. Our goal is to have Alex and Carlos by our side for many years to come. We have to do work on our side in order to make sure we are stepping up, irrespective of our drivers. The drivers are not the limitation to us at the moment—we are.
“We have to fix that, and quickly. For us, more than anything else. But the announcements of the drivers will show you that there’s belief in the project for the long term. And the individuals, even the ones that have been here since ‘22, can see the change and want to be a part of that.”
