Japanese GP: Another difficult race for Williams F1 Team
By Williams F1 Team
March 29 2026
The 2026 Japanese GP would see the Atlassian Williams F1 Team come away with set of results that were the best they could achieve on the day. Carlos Sainz would finish 15th while Alex Albon was 20th. For Alex his race would end up becoming pretty much a test session while for Carlos he was stuck in a group of cars from which the pace of the FW48 did not allow him to make any real forward progress. Both drivers were satisfied with the efforts that the team has been making over the opening series of races but in reality the FW48 is lacking in performance. It is now down to what the team can bring in terms of updates to the car in the break leading up to the next race in Miami.
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Atlassian Williams F1 Team
Japanese GP Race Review |
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Alex Albon:
"I was in traffic for the race so nothing really happened to me and it
turned into a bit of a test session as we wanted to try a few things on
the front wing to understand it a bit better and have some data. The car
is feeling okay for what we have and the team has been working really
hard to get it into a good position in these three weeks. Realistically
we are achieving what we can achieve and executing our races as best as
we can but we just need to get on top of some issues and get a bit more
speed in the car. We have a lot of work to do but we have about five
weeks now as a team so there's a lot that we can improve and I think
this is going to benefit us so that we can come back stronger in Miami." |
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Carlos Sainz:
"We got absolutely everything we could out of the car in the race today.
Also, another solid start and good pitstop timing meant we did our best
possible race, so I’m satisfied with that. The team and I are working
well to understand this car and these regulations, and I feel like we’re
going into this early break ready to make some real progress on the
car's performance. We have to make sure we maximise these five weeks and
head into Miami in a better position for the season ahead. Last but not
least, very happy that Ollie is OK after that big impact." |
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James Vowles, Team Principal:
"We need to maximise these next five weeks in front of us. It was a
painful day today, and I want to make it a line in the sand and make
sure we add performance every race going forward this year and fight
back towards a point-scoring position every weekend. Well done to
Carlos, it was a faultless drive and he did everything he could but
that’s just where the car is today. And well done to Alex, he drove
perfectly and then completed a test programme that will be invaluable
for us for future learning. These next five weeks will be some of the
hardest for us, purposefully so, as we dig deep and make sure that we
come back with a car in Miami that is worthy of scoring points.
“On the huge accident for Ollie, I consider him a friend and I’m glad he
has walked away with minor injuries. It’s a reminder to us that we need
to make sure we’re not putting ourselves in this situation. He’s a great
racer, I’m glad he’s ok, and I look forward to seeing him in Miami." |
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Suzuka Circuit, Japan |
5.807km |
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Pos |
Driver |
Summary |
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15 |
C Sainz |
• Started: P16 • Strategy:
Medium to Hard (1 stop) • Fastest lap: 1:34.514 |
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20 |
A Albon |
• Started: P17 • Strategy:
Medium to Hard (1 stop) followed by a testing programme • Fastest lap:
1:33.427 |
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