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James Vowles’ recent comments about their strategy at the Chinese Grand Prix show that they have far bigger issues than just the weight of the car.
Williams entered the 2026 season with a myriad of issues, not least of which involved the FW48 being drastically overweight.
In fact, the car’s weight issues are so bad that Williams are losing a second of pace with each lap they complete on track.
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Despite these issues, Carlos Sainz managed to secure points for Williams in Shanghai. His performance was able to offset some of the damage caused by Alex Albon’s DNS.
Williams cannot let this success distract from their issues. However, James Vowles’ recent comments about the Chinese Grand Prix show that they have some concerns far beyond their car’s performance.
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James Vowles claims Williams pit strategy would not have earned them more points in Shanghai
James Vowles answered fan questions in the latest episode of Vowles Verdict. When asked whether a better-timed pit stop to align with the safety car would have helped Carlos Sainz earn a better finish, Vowles refuted the notion.
He claimed that even a later pit-stop wouldn’t have made much of a difference, and Sainz would have still finished P9. He also added that the team were more focused on sticking to their plan and correcting their issues with the tyres.
“Had we waited just one lap, that’s how short it was, we would have pitted ahead of Lawson. However, from everything we can see at the moment, based on where we are performance-wise, that wouldn’t have resulted in a different finish position.
“Perhaps a slightly easier race, but the same finish position, which was P9. In terms of the decision itself, the team were always conscious that these regulations and the amount of reliability we’ve seen now, there was a high probability at any given lap of a car breakdown and a safety car.
“But it’s hard to do. It’s a random event, and in the meantime, their focus was on the amount of graining we had on the medium tyre and effectively gaining off that tyre because we were starting to lose a lot of performance.”
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Williams’ failure to adapt to changing circumstances hints at poor race management
These comments from Vowles point to a larger issue with Williams and their in-race strategy. Teams always have multiple plans before a race, but the ability to adapt to an evolving situation is crucial.
One can attribute Williams’ pit stop timing to luck, and that would be fair. But for Vowles to suggest that a better-timed pit stop wouldn’t have impacted Sainz positively is perhaps an inability to recognise a missed opportunity.
It’s hard to predict whether Sainz would have had a better finish if Williams had waited a lap to pit him under the safety car. But to suggest there would have been no change is quite strange.
If Williams want to get the most out of this season and overcome their poor start, Vowles and the team as a whole must change their approach to post-race assessment, and recognise where missed opportunities could have benefitted them.
The weight issues for Williams have been well-chronicled. But they’re sure to address the issue at some point. The same cannot be said for their race strategy and post-race analysis.
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