Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has argued that Williams may be forced to "sacrifice" its 2027 development programme to fix the fundamental flaws of its current challenger.
After securing fifth in the 2025 constructors' championship, Williams has endured a nightmare start under the 2026 regulations. The Grove outfit's struggles continued during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. Both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon were eliminated in Q1 and started the race from 17th and 18th on the grid, respectively.
The race itself resulted in a retirement for Sainz due to a suspected electrical issue and a 17th-place finish for Albon.
During an appearance on the F1 TV post-race broadcast, Montoya offered a blunt assessment of his former team's current situation.
Asked by presenter and former IndyCar Series driver James Hinchcliffe if the British team could bounce back at its home race at Silverstone, Montoya explained: "Unless they start bringing upgrades, no. Everybody's bringing upgrades, and I feel that at some point, they need to go, 'We're going to go all in and figure it out, upgrade this and even sacrifice next year, but we need to figure out how to close that gap.'
"And I feel bad for them because they're trying. They really put all the eggs for this year, and it hasn't really worked. But they have everything in place to be able to be an amazing and top team.
"So I don't think they're that far from being really successful. So as a driver, if you're driving for them, it's one of those teams that you go, 'Man, if I leave, I might miss this.'"
Williams currently sits eighth in the constructors' championship with 11 points, 10 points behind Haas in seventh and nine points ahead of Audi in ninth.
The British Grand Prix will take place at Silverstone from 3 to 5 July.
Photos from Austrian GP - Sunday
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