Dave Robson, Williams vehicle performance head, claims the 2024 upgrades will supplement next year’s car development.
The Williams Formula 1 team has decided to combine 2024-2025 development to gain an advantage in the process for next year. It aims to achieve a head start next year to focus early on the 2026 season.
The UK-based company failed to find a strong form on the track because it entered this year with an overweight car. It happened because the team shifted focus to improving infrastructure rather than its car.
The William F1 team will add new upgrades over the season to find the right adjustments for the car. However, the F1 restrictions for aerodynamic testing and financial caps crippled the team from making it better.
“It’s an interesting challenge we’ve been talking about for quite some time,” said Robson.
“There are bits of ’26 we can start to look at; not the aero side of it by regulation. But there are other things we can start to consider and that process inevitably is underway.
“The aero will come, although we’ve been able to do a little bit of aero under the TD from the FIA. They are really helping to understand the regulations. So that’s always useful to just get everyone’s mind into the 2026 game.
“Balancing the resource between not just from now. But from several months ago through the next couple of years, is going to be tricky.
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“But obviously it’s the same for everyone and I’m sure most people will be fully focused on 2026 very quickly come the new year. And then it will be interesting then to see what people do next year.”
Robson explained how the team would split the timeline. He added: “For us, there’ll be brief periods early next calendar year when the 2026 car will come out of the wind tunnel and that will give us an opportunity for the odd day or two to put the FW47 – so the 2025 car – back in.
“We’ll be looking to do that and if we can find some way of bringing performance to it without compromising the 2026 programme. Then we’ll obviously look to do that.
“But I suspect that will end really quite early in the calendar year. And it will be full on from a resource and budget point of view, on the 2026 car.”
