Hill on the situation at Williams: “They’re coming, but it’s discouraging”

Against expectations The good performances of last season, which ended in 5th place in the Constructors’ standings after long and constant work focused on growing competitiveness, had given rise to hopes for further steps forward by Williams for 2026, which has been in a strong crisis of results for years. A general hope in that of Grove which, however, collapsed even before the pre-season tests, with the FW48 even absent from the shakedown in Barcelona as it was not approved by the FIA ​​and with subsequent problems linked to the overweight of the car. Optimism remains. A complex moment for the historic British team, recognized first and foremost by its ambassador Damon Hill, winner of the world title in 1996. The former driver, interviewed by Channel 4, remains optimistic about the fact that the team can make progress with the continuation of the season, but he was very honest about the current situation: “They’re coming – he declared – we have to keep moving forward, otherwise we’ll go backwards, but they’re starting from far behind, so they have a lot of work to do this year. It’s a “It’s a little daunting. They had a fantastic season last year, so they know the work ahead of them will be tough and they have to work hard, but right now it’s a work in progress.” How to seize the opportunity The team members will concentrate as much as possible during this month to implement the comeback from Miami onwards, taking advantage of the unexpected break resulting from the conflict in the Middle East which led to the cancellation of the GPs in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia: “Every single hour of this break will help us get back into shape at the right time for the return to Miami – explained Team Principal James Vowles on Williams’ social channels – clearly, we have not started the season as we would have liked. So this period will serve to evaluate what we can Now, without losses, we can rely on the fact that production can be focused on future performances, some of which may come to Miami, some later. It’s no secret that we are overweight again, the developments will be concentrated in that period, making sure we can reduce the mass of the car in a sensible way “It gives us an excellent opportunity to do so. The drivers will return here to the UK and we will use the simulator practically every day, as much as possible. Furthermore – he concluded – we will also do pit stop tests with the team here, on the majority of days when it is possible. So, it will be mainly a question of understanding what we can fit in and what will give us the maximum result with the minimum effort”.