Formula 1
Williams F1 car still losing performance to cooling issues
Williams team boss James Vowles explains the reliability issues that have been hampering his squad
Filip Cleeren
Published: Jul 17, 2025, 8:50 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Williams boss James Vowles has said his team is still chasing a permanent solution for its cooling issues as its temporary fixes are costing it valuable performance in the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Both Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz have regularly suffered from engine overheating issues in recent races, most notably in Spain, Canada and Austria, with Albon being forced to retire in Montreal and Spielberg as a result. Sainz has also encountered overheating on the brakes.
Albon's retirement from a points-paying position in Austria particularly hurt Williams as it has largely turned off its development tap for 2025 before its nearest midfield rivals, so it is relying on clean race weekend execution to defend its dwindling lead in the fight for fifth against a resurgent Sauber among others.
Vowles says the team has contained the issue for now, but its fixes mean the car is leaving lap time on the table.
"We've obviously been hindered by this cooling issue that's been there for a few races this year, but probably more marked in the Austria retirement when we were running in a very strong position," Vowles said.
"We did a lot of work in FP1 [in Silverstone], with a different programme to most cars in order to get on top of it, and we're doing something different between Alex and Carlos.
James Vowles, Williams
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
"We have solutions in place that mean we can get the car through the race, but it's at the cost of performance. Ideally, what we're looking for is containments that allow us to make sure we're not throwing away anything in terms of performance going forward, and the team is working diligently on that as we speak."
Although Vowles didn't go into specifics, cooling inlets that are bigger than necessary come with a drag penalty. Brake duct and winglet shapes on both the front and rear corners have also become an area of intense aerodynamic development, as they help control the wake coming from the tyres.
Williams will bring a modest upgrade to next week's Belgian Grand Prix, with Vowles hoping that even a small boost will help the British squad regain some momentum in a tense midfield battle against improved competition.
"Now we have a small update coming to Spa, what we really have to do though is just make sure we capitalise on the car performance that we have available to us," he added.
"There are still points that we can score between here to the end of the year, it's making sure that we execute the weekends cleanly and take every opportunity that comes towards us.
"We have a number of really good races coming up for us, and it's about delivering the result that the car has in it."
Read Also:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article F1 driver market – Who is tied down for 2026?
Next article Jules Bianchi’s breakthrough F1 season – in his own words
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Filip Cleeren
Winners and losers from F1's Singapore Grand Prix
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Winners and losers from F1's Singapore Grand Prix
What's so "serious" for McLaren about the Norris-Piastri Singapore collision
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
What's so "serious" for McLaren about the Norris-Piastri Singapore collision
More from
Williams
James Vowles explains request for review of F1 cost cap
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
James Vowles explains request for review of F1 cost cap
Williams Racing is suing a local garage owner for £1million
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
Williams Racing is suing a local garage owner for £1million
Latest news
WSJ Report: NASCAR is building 80+ race cars for Days of Thunder sequel
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 1 h
WSJ Report: NASCAR is building 80+ race cars for Days of Thunder sequel
Brennan Poole to leave Alpha Prime Racing; team owners 'disappointed' to see him go
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Charlotte II
11 h
Brennan Poole to leave Alpha Prime Racing; team owners 'disappointed' to see him go
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
12 h
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Winners and losers from NASCAR Cup at Charlotte after dramatic finish
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
15 h
Winners and losers from NASCAR Cup at Charlotte after dramatic finish
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe