Williams Team Principal James Vowles has denied speculation that Alex Albon is running a more developed car than Carlos Sainz.
Albon has had a superb start to his 2025 Formula 1 campaign, and currently sits 6th in the Drivers’ Standings, after the first two race weekends.
However, team mate Sainz has struggled, picking up just a single point for his new team, as a result of the three disqualifications at the Chinese GP.
Rumours began circulating around the F1 world that the reason for the Spaniard’s lack of pace, was down to him running an older chassis than Albon.
However, this week Vowles has confirmed that these claims are untrue, and that there is a level playing field at Williams.
Albon and Sainz have ‘exactly the same equipment’
Many people believed that Sainz would jump straight into the Williams, and immediately outperform Albon, as a result of his experience and pace.
However, the complete opposite has happened, with Albon’s advantage over the former Ferrari man becoming increasingly evident.
Despite this, Vowles is clear on the fact that they have exactly the same car. In a recent video posted by Williams, he said: “Both Alex and Carlos are using exactly the same equipment.
“They have the same chassis, the same front wings, the same gearboxes, everything is of the same specification and standard.
“Both drivers are running an evolution of last year’s chassis, so it’s evolved exactly the same way, but we always intended to go through this sequence of regulation [during] the last year of the regulations, making sure that we are effectively evolving our chassis rather than redesign it from scratch.”
Investment in next year ‘really important’
Currently, all ten teams are finding the balance between improving this season’s car, and focusing on the new regulations which come into force from the beginning of 2026.
Vowles says that running an evolved chassis helps the team put important resources towards next year, he said: “It’s really important because it allows us to put our eggs in an investment basket of 2026 and beyond.
“It’s not a financial question; it’s a time resource. We’re all up against the cost cap, but it allows us to re-optimise and make sure that we’re getting everything for ‘26 we can and we knew there was quite a bit of potential within the chassis.
“I’d also add that I think a number of teams on the grid have done something quite similar to what we’ve done, not all but most would have done.”