Alex Albon is now demanding Williams u-turn on critical 2025 decision after ‘lucky’ Silverstone result

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Alex Albon returned to the points at the British Grand Prix as he finished P8 in a rain-soaked race at Silverstone.

It had been a miserable run of form for the Thai driver as he had suffered three consecutive retirements before the British Grand Prix. It looked like his struggles would continue as he was outqualified by teammate Carlos Sainz and lined up 14th.

In a race where drivers struggled to decide whether to run on slick or intermediates tyres in the tricky conditions, Albon benefited from accidents ahead to finish eighth and score four points for Williams.

It was a much-needed result for the Grove outfit amid a torrid run in the past few races. Silverstone was Williams’ largest points haul since the Emilia Romagna GP, collecting eight points since that race.

Nico Hulkenberg’s first F1 podium has elevated Sauber up the pecking order and has put Williams under pressure to keep hold of fifth in the constructors’ championship. It is why Albon is now calling for a u-turn on Williams’ development plans for 2025.

Alex Albon says Williams ‘should’ bring new upgrades in 2025 after ‘lucky’ Silverstone result

With the 2026 F1 regulations around the corner, Williams were one of, if not the first, team to solely prioritise development for next season. James Vowles halted upgrades for 2025 as he looked to capitalise on the new rules to propel the team up the order.

While the Grove outfit initially looked to be the best of the rest in the midfield, their rivals have started to catch up with new updates. Sauber have made huge steps forward, while Racing Bulls and Aston Martin are beginning to challenge for points more regularly than Williams.

Several issues have hampered the FW47 in 2025, including the cooling system. Vowles says Williams’ infrastructure prevents them from fixing the problem, and the updates they have brought have, as per a report from Motorsport Italia, not ‘yielded the desired results’.

Albon himself said his P8 at Silverstone was ‘lucky’ as he demanded that Williams fix their issues this season: “I think we can solve it this season. We have to. Especially considering how many points we’ve lost so far because of it.

“Once we have some new features, we’ll need a car that can finish races. We’re lucky in some ways—the cold weather at Silverstone helped us—but we’ll face some very hot races later in the year.”

The Thai driver ‘announced that some new features should be added to the FW47’ to fix their woes and keep themselves ahead of their rivals. Albon said Williams want to copy Red Bull and capitalise on the new regulations, but he is demanding upgrades this year.

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Have Williams made a mistake prioritising 2026 over 2025?

F1 fans want Albon to score a podium for Williams and take them back to the front of F1. But as 2025 has shown, while there is potential with the team, they have a long way to go.

Prioritising 2026 will give them an advantage over other teams who are indecisive with their development. However, the issues the FW47 has faced in 2025 need addressing before they fall in the pecking order, which could have an effect on next season.

The issue is that if Williams were to u-turn their development, as per the Motorsport Italia report, there is ‘the risk’ of the updates ‘arriving far behind the competition’.

It is clear the drivers want action now as they see potential in the project this season. Nigel Mansell says Williams must be ‘on it’ every weekend to ‘bounce back’; upgrades to the car may be the solution.