Williams realised that ‘nothing fit’ when they tried to build their 2026 Formula 1 car

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Williams are dealing with a great deal of internal frustration over the FW48 and the issues their 2026 car has presented them with.

Williams are working on significant upgrades during the season hiatus to address the concerns both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon have voiced.

While Williams must also look at their strategy errors in the first three races this season, there is no denying that the FW48 has been a huge letdown for them this season.

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Prior to the break, Williams were reportedly losing a second per lap during races, a huge issue that was costing them significant points.

However, according to Julianne Cerasoli, members within Williams are beyond frustrated with the state of the car, as issues have been present since they began work.

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Williams’ confidence in 2026 car was shattered as soon as construction work began

Speaking with UOL Esporte, Brazilian F1 reporter Julianne Cerasoli noted that several teams felt Williams were ahead of their work on the FW48.

However, when they began working on the car, they realised that nothing would fit the right way, leading to many of the issues they are facing right now.

“In December, I heard people in the paddock saying, ‘With this Williams car, they are much more advanced in terms of aerodynamics than others at the moment.’

“They were, in fact, hiding very well the problems that were already beginning to surface. And when they went to put this car project into action, from the simulator to the actual car and building it, nothing fit, the weight was too much.

“That’s why they had problems with the impact test. Then they had to reinforce the car. That only made the car heavier.

“What I heard is that the car is 30 kgs over the minimum weight, which is a lot, especially when you have a car that is 20kg below the minimum weight, showing what was possible to do.”

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Carlos Sainz has spent the most time on the radio by any driver in 2026

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Williams see ‘no great prospects’ for 2026 season due to weight and aerodynamic issues with FW48

Speaking further during the episode, Cerasoli noted that one member of the Williams crew told her that there is a lot of pessimism surrounding their season due to the amount of work needed to address their issues.

“I talked to members of the team… When a team is doing very, very badly, as is the case with Williams, someone will come along and start talking, because they’re fed up with all this.

“Then someone from Williams came and said, Look, it’s like cartoons like Tom and Jerry, where he tries to hit the hammer on one side, and it appears on the other. That’s what’s happening with our car. And there’s no great prospect because there are so many things wrong with the car.’

“Of course. James Vowles’ mission was complicated from the beginning, because the factory hadn’t gotten any investment for 20 years. And even though they have money now, it’s not that they need to invest, change all the processes overnight.

“These things take time, but I’m sure it’s taking longer than James imagined… He didn’t want to talk about the car last year and focused only on 2026. 2026 arrived, and nothing happened.”

As things stand, Williams have managed to earn points in just one race, as Carlos Sainz’s P9 finish at Shanghai put them on the board.

Unless they make some drastic improvements in time for the Miami Grand Prix, it’s hard to see Williams bouncing back in time for the end of the season.