'We're in trouble here' — Vowles says Sainz and Albon backed Williams after 2026 warning

Vowles tells drivers Williams would be off the pace early in 2026

James Vowles has revealed how he told Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon that Williams would face problems under the new-for-2026 Formula 1 regulations, and how their responses left him “knocked off my feet”.

Speaking on the latest episode of the official F1 podcast Beyond the Grid, Vowles said much was expected of Williams this season after he publicly declared midway through 2025 that all focus had shifted to its 2026 challenger. Problems surfaced early in pre-season, with the team missing the first shakedown in Barcelona and the FW48 — which runs a Mercedes power unit — proving severely overweight and lacking performance.

The calls to Sainz and Albon

“There were several calls,” Vowles said. “The first call was around December time, saying, ‘we're in trouble here. I'm not sure what the impact on Barcelona (shakedown) is. The car's going to be heavy. Not sure the final amount at this point in time, but I'm preparing you. It's going to be difficult.”

He added a second call followed in January, and said both conversations will “stick with me forever”.

“I called Alex and before I'd finished my sentence, he said, ‘I'm with you. I'm here to support you. What can I do to help?’ And I was a little bit knocked off my feet, if I'm completely honest.”

Vowles contrasted the reaction with the typical driver response he expected.

“Typically, you've got high-performance machines, which are drivers, and the first thing they'll say is probably a few expletives followed by, ‘what happened? What went on here?’ And it wasn't that. It was, ‘we're a unified group. We're in a difficult position right now. What can I do to help?’”

Carlos Sainz’s response was similar.

“Carlos, very similar. A few more questions from him, ‘where are we here? What do you know about that? What's going on here?’ And then, ‘how can I help?’.”

Support through a difficult campaign

Both drivers flew to the UK quickly after the warnings and worked alongside the squad, Vowles said.

“One of the best things that they could have ever done, because the team, when it's absolutely punched in the stomach, bent over double, had two individuals turn up and go, ‘we're here. We're with you. We can do this. We can pull ourselves through this. We know it's not going to be one month or three months. It's going to take time, but we're here’,” he said.

Vowles said the commitment was reaffirmed during the August break and called it leadership.

“That is leadership. If you want me to describe leadership in 30 seconds, it's that your self-interests disappear relative to that of something far bigger, which is the organisation.”

The team has struggled throughout the 2026 season so far, securing just 12 points across the campaign with a best result of P8, leaving the squad ninth in the teams’ standings.

Vowles praised Sainz and Albon for motivating the team during the difficult period as Williams looks to move further up the grid.