Martin Brundle labels Williams’s 2026 F1 start “very concerning” after early setbacks

Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle has labelled Williams' start to the 2026 season as "very concerning".

Despite team principal James Vowles heavily backing the Grove outfit's long-term 2026 project last year, the reality on track has so far fallen short of expectations. 

After missing private testing in Barcelona at the end of January, Williams was already on the back foot when it came to pre-season testing in Bahrain.

With the two points Carlos Sainz scored with a ninth-place finish at the Chinese Grand Prix, the team sits ninth in the constructors' standings after the first three rounds of the season.

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Show, Brundle discussed the knock-on effects of the team's pre-season hurdles.

"It's very concerning because obviously, as you say, James has been talking about a restructure and we're going to have to give up something here to get some advantages down the road," the former driver explained.

Alexander Albon, Williams

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

"They've got a Mercedes power unit like Alpine and like Mercedes and McLaren. We know they had crash test issues. We know the car had to then have a lot of extra stuff put on it, basically to pass the test.

"So you're on your back foot at that point. Probably the weight of the car, the weight distribution of the car, the centre of gravity of that weight. And in today's cost cap world and relentless racing until right now, it's hard to recover that situation.

"But fundamentally it doesn't look a particularly good car either. So, it's very worrying for them. They're ahead of Cadillac and Aston Martin, but you can only look at the Williams performance to date, and be extremely disappointed for them.

"And we need them. We need them up there. We need them charging at the front of the midfield."