Williams skips some 2026 aero upgrades to preserve resources for 2027

James Vowles says Williams has chosen not to turn some wind-tunnel gains into upgrades for its 2026 car, reserving cost-cap resources for the 2027 project. At the Brazilian Grand Prix, the team boss called the decision “horribly painful” and said: “You want every millisecond on track.”

The huge workload of building Williams’s all-new car clogged the factory’s systems at Grove. The car arrived late and overweight, and was aerodynamically underdeveloped. Williams had managed only 12 points so far in 2026.

Williams has also invested heavily in bringing its chassis to the weight limit, with a new chassis introduced in Azerbaijan due to carry over into 2027. Vowles said work in Austin and Mexico also served as preparation for the following year.

The team has used some Friday practice sessions to gather data for 2027, at the expense of optimizing performance for that weekend. Spare parts are tight too: Williams is stretching their mileage rather than spending money on components that will soon be obsolete.

With the current car, Vowles said, points would come only if fortune fell Williams’s way; he said the team was better off investing in the future.