Ralf Schumacher currently sees no light at the end of the tunnel for Williams—will the team soon take action and part ways with team principal James Vowles?
Due to the ongoing Williams crisis, team principal James Vowles is coming under increasing pressure. At least expert Ralf Schumacher believes the Brit could lose his job if the storied team fails to turn things around by 2026.
“Things are getting tight,” says Schumacher on Sky’s ‘Backstage Boxengasse’ podcast about the current situation at Williams, explaining: “You can tell the mood in the team is shifting.” Alexander Albon is “totally down,” and Carlos Sainz is also “no longer positive.”
At the last race before the summer break in Hungary, both Williams drivers were eliminated in Q1 of qualifying. In Sunday’s race, they finished 17th and 18th—two laps down—among the 19 drivers who saw the checkered flag.
For Williams, it was already the fifth consecutive race without scoring points. “We like James Vowles very, very much,” Schumacher emphasizes, explaining: “I’d also like to see him succeed. However, I fear he won’t have the time anymore.”
Short-lived turnaround
“Something really needs to happen soon. But I think the investors’ patience is running out,” said the expert, who sees Williams making more steps backward than forward. He pointed out that the team had “gotten off to an extremely bad start” in 2026.
Williams missed the winter shakedown in Barcelona and entered the new Formula 1 season with, among other things, a car that was significantly overweight. Nevertheless, they managed to score points in three consecutive races—in Miami, Canada, and Monaco.
The turnaround didn’t last, however, as the points earned in the Principality in early June were also the last ones to date. That was nearly two months ago. Since then, Schumacher has seen no further progress from his former team.
At Williams, officials have repeatedly stated in recent weeks that they will bring “almost a completely new car” to the race in Baku. But Schumacher apparently lacks faith that this will bring about a major turnaround.
Baku Updates as a Last Chance?
“I don’t see a solution there right now. I also wouldn’t know how James Vowles is going to pull this off,” said the expert. In fact, there also seem to be internal doubts that the “B version” of the FW48 will result in a major leap forward.
Most recently at Silverstone, Williams introduced a new front wing, though it didn’t perform as hoped there. And Alexander Albon explained after the race in Hungary that the Williams package for Baku wouldn’t be as extensive as Aston Martin’s latest update.
Fernando Alonso’s team made a major leap forward with the Budapest upgrade. The Spaniard qualified for Q2 on Saturday and also finished Sunday’s race ahead of both Williams drivers. Albon fears that Williams won’t see such significant progress.
Vowles himself had recently emphasized that he considered it “realistic” to close the gap to the fastest teams in the midfield over the course of the year. However, Ralf Schumacher—who drove for Williams in Formula 1 between 1999 and 2004—at least currently lacks that confidence.