Williams spy 'advantage' over major F1 decision

Alex Albon has detailed Williams can use the ongoing April break to its advantage, more so than its rival teams.

The Grove-based squad has endured a miserable start to the new campaign with a vastly overweight car, leaving it languishing towards the rear of the pecking order.

Williams had long targeted the 2026 regulation overhaul as a chance to make gains over rival teams, but has instead slipped back in the order relative to its position last year.

But an opportunity to better itself has arisen, as F1 is currently going through a five-week break due to the cancellation of two races in the Middle East.

While Albon acknowledged Williams is missing vital track time, he stated it is targeting a major car upgrade for the upcoming round in Miami.

“It's obviously the same for everyone,” Albon told media including RacingNews365. 

“But for us, we can take advantage of it a bit more than the others. 

“We're pushing along hard for this upgrade for Miami, to get it ready more than anything else. 

“But at the same time, you are missing track time, which we do need. We need to explore the car a little bit more.”

Albon highlighted Williams will spend extensive time in the simulator across the coming weeks as it looks to resume the season in a positive manner.

“At least on our side, these five weeks off, we've already got our scheduling,” he said.

“[We will] basically be in the factory every week for those weeks, and got a strong DiL (Driver-in-the-Loop simulation) programme to go alongside it.

“You can expect Miami, if everything goes to plan, there's going to be some weight coming off.”