Williams team principal James Vowles looks back on the opening day in Canada with mixed feelings. On the one hand, the British team made progress with a tenth place in the sprint qualifying for Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, the team had to deal with the damage to Alex Albon’s car after he collided with a groundhog during the first and only free practice. Despite this, Vowles is satisfied with the development Williams is undergoing.
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The sprint weekend in Montréal began on Friday with the first free practice. Alex Albon had to retire early after crashing his car into the wall. The cause of the crash was a sudden collision with a groundhog; the animal crossed the track at an unfortunate moment and ended up under Albon’s Williams. The damage turned out to be too great to be repaired in time for the sprint qualifying; both the gearbox and the engine had to be replaced. As a result, the British-Thai driver will start from the back on Saturday.
Significant damage
Vowles was asked for a reaction after Friday. “First of all, I am very happy with the team,” he said about Williams’ variable day. “It has been another three fantastic weeks in which everyone has worked tirelessly to improve the car’s performance. I hope that progress is visible. As for Alex: I feel very sorry for him because he really had the speed this weekend. He was immediately competitive, but this was just pure bad luck. Normally, I don’t really believe in luck, but I don’t know what else to call it.”
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The damage to Albon’s car turned out to be greater than initially thought. “At first, it seemed manageable, but when we got the car back, we found problems with the engine, gearbox, and suspension. That meant the end of the line, especially during a busy sprint weekend. Of course, we learn from this retirement and he will be back on the grid for the sprint race.” Vowles also tried to look on the bright side. “We don’t expect him to score points immediately, so he can use that session as a test. After all, he couldn’t practice long runs in FP1.”
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Progress
On the other side of the garage, Carlos Sainz fared much better. The Spaniard gave Williams the first SQ3 position of the season and ultimately finished tenth. “With Carlos, we can simply speak of a flawless execution,” said a proud Vowles. “I am glad we are making progress. Of course, there is still a lot of work to do before we consistently compete at the front again, but we are on the right track.”
After a strong 2025, Williams fell back significantly in the new F1 season. In recent weeks, the team has therefore focused on important upgrades to reconnect with the midfield. According to Vowles, it was ‘a bit of everything’. “We have reduced the car’s weight and added a significant aerodynamic package,” he explained. “Between Japan and Miami, we carried out about 32 different projects. One of those was the aerodynamic package; the rest focused on improving the overall performance of the car. Here in Canada, for example, we better utilized the exhaust gases by repositioning the exhaust. The rear suspension was also adjusted. This allows us to set up the car in a very different way. The current changes give us, for example, a much better balance in the corners.”
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