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Williams Racing have confirmed an upgrade for both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, as the Formula 1 grid prepares for the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix. The news comes amid a mid-season slump for the Grove-based outfit, which has seen rivals close the gap in recent weeks following a strong start to the 2025 campaign.
Team Principal James Vowles addressed the team's recent trajectory and the new package in a team video.
"We're now about midway and obviously a very strong start and then fallen away a little bit, as others have added performance to their car. Now, we have a small update coming to Spa. What we really have to do though is just make sure we capitalize on the car performance that we have available to us." (0:40 onwards)
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While Williams currently sits fifth in the Constructors' Championship with 59 points, the numbers show a deeper imbalance. Albon has scored 46 of those points. Carlos Sainz, in contrast, has had a difficult run, with only 13 points all season and just one point in the last four races.
Earlier in the British GP weekend, Sainz candidly assessed his turbulent first half of the year (via Formula 1's official website):
"Definitely we're going through a tough period with reliability issues, with weekend execution problems as you could see and the last few weekends I think have been extremely difficult for us as a team."
Vowles echoed that sentiment in the team video debrief, adding:
"With Carlos, I think we haven't delivered everything we can with him this year. It's been a mixture all across the board. There's been errors that he's made on track. There's absolutely been errors that we've made on track. There's been accidents, just accumulation of aspects." (5:10 onwards)
Williams brought a round of floor fence updates to Silverstone last week, aiming to improve flow distribution and downstream car performance. The Spa updates are expected to be evolutionary, fine-tuning the FW47's balance on what remains the longest and most complex layout on the F1 calendar.
"Everything that could go wrong this year so far has gone wrong": Carlos Sainz reflects on the first half of the season
Silverstone produced a wet race filled with drama and unpredictability, shaping the British Grand Prix. Williams collected four points after Alex Albon went past Fernando Alonso on the last lap to finish P8. For Carlos Sainz, however, the outing ended in frustration.
Running just outside the points and closing in on Charles Leclerc, the Spaniard was caught out when the Ferrari driver snapped through Stowe and ran into his path. The contact damaged the No. 55 FW47's front wing and floor, costing Sainz around half a second per lap and ultimately dropping him to P12.
"Unfortunately for Carlos when he was running in a strong position, he was hit by Charles… the damage was extensive. It was front wing and floor and the losses probably around about half a second a lap," Vowles confirmed in the team video. (2:05 onwards)
The result added to a growing list of setbacks for the Spaniard, who failed to start the Austrian Grand Prix due to a pre-race brake fire. But even amid adversity, the four-time Grand Prix winner remains resolute.
"I think everything that could go wrong this year so far has gone wrong for me… The one thing that keeps me smiling is the speed that I've in the car and with the team… We just don't seem to get a break in terms of luck, execution of the weekend, reliability... But at some point, it's going to end and as soon as I get a bit of momentum going, I know what we're capable of doing," he told F1.
The Spa-Francorchamps circuit is known for its elevation shifts and high-speed sections like Eau Rouge and Blanchimont. As the F1 paddock heads to Belgium, Williams will hope to capitalize on their upgrade and turn potential into results.
And for Carlos Sainz, the Belgian Grand Prix could be the turning point his season so badly needs.
