The Audi threat
The worrying moment for Williams continues on many fronts, starting with the constant and total absence outside the points zone which was confirmed again at the Belgian Grand Prix. Added to this is the threat from Audi, which thanks to two consecutive eighth-place finishes by Gabriel Bortoleto at Silverstone and Spa has brought the Four Rings brand to one point behind the Grove team in the Constructors’ Championship, currently eighth.
The Belgian illusion
An FW48 that, even this weekend, did not satisfy Alex Albon, 15th at all and was betrayed in the race by what seemed like good expectations: “It was a frustrating day – he admitted – we had a good start and began to think we could keep pace with the mid-field group, but our pace dropped drastically. We had a flawless weekend and a better pace up to qualifying, where we made some changes that affected our race pace, leaving us with a rather slow car. We know that other teams are progressing much faster than us and the Baku upgrade probably won’t close this gap, but we will do our best to improve performance.”
Read more Spa 2026, the other podium
A race all uphill
Right behind the Anglo-Thai driver finished teammate Carlos Sainz, 16th after a long race starting from the back: “Today was a race of two faces. We had to start from 19th position due to a penalty for replacing the ESME and we suffered damage to the front wing on the first lap, when everyone bunched up at turn 1. Replacing the front wing cost us time, but with the new wing the car was in a much better position and I had a good pace until the end of the race, overtaking some rivals and reducing the gap to the cars ahead. Ultimately, we got the most out of the car. Even though we know the gap to the mid-field group is increasing and our upcoming upgrades won’t fully close it, we have learned useful lessons to build on. Onwards to Hungary.”
Read more Haas disaster in Belgium: contact between Bearman and Ocon at the start
