Dutch GP: Mixed Friday for Atlassian Williams F1 Team


By Williams F1 Team
August 22 2026

The opening day of the 2026 Dutch GP would see the Atlassian Williams F1 Team come away with a very muched mixed set of results with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz  having quite different sessions across the single practice and then Sprint qualifying. Alex was able to make it into SQ2 and would finish in 16th after what he described as a not bad Friday but for Carlos he would have issues in practice which affected his Sprint qualifying. Carlos was have several moments where he would go across the gravel and one would damage his floor which affected his ability to learn the car. This would ultimately see him only manage 18th in the qualifying. The results will see both drivers start down the order in Saturday's Sprint but given the state of the teams inability to bring updates to the FW48 this is not a real surprise.

 
 Atlassian Williams F1 Team Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying Review
 
Sainz
 
Albon

Alex Albon:
"Overall, it wasn't a bad Friday, especially considering where our pace was in FP1. There's still a lot of lap time to find and areas for us to improve. We know we won't be fighting in the top eight tomorrow, but that's not really our focus right now. It's more about making sure we're getting the absolute best out of the car we've got this weekend, until the upgrades arrive. The weather looks like it could mix things up too, potentially being wet tomorrow and dry on Sunday. For us that creates a bit of chaos, and chaos is where we can find opportunities to fight for points."
Sainz

Carlos Sainz:
"Tough day. In FP1 I struggled with balance and sustained damage to the floor running through the gravel at turn 13. I couldn’t learn much from that session from there on and had to change some parts ahead of Sprint qualifying. The session was very tight, and I didn’t really find the right feeling with the car, which ultimately meant not progressing into SQ2. Now the focus is on what we can achieve tomorrow."
 
Albon
 
Sainz
 
Circuit Zandvoort, Netherlands Lap Length: 4.259km
Pos Driver Team SQ1 SQ2 SQ3
16 A Albon Williams Racing 1:14.596 1:14.294 -
18 C Sainz Williams Racing 1:14.738 - -
 
Albon
 

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