Nico Rosberg has delivered a critical assessment of his former team, Williams, describing their 2026 season as a ‘shocker’. The 2016 world champion, who began his Formula 1 career with the Grove-based outfit, expressed his disappointment with the team’s significant step backwards.
Rosberg attributes the team’s poor performance to a flawed development process during the winter. He believes an overly ambitious approach to the new chassis design for the FW48 has backfired, resulting in a car that is considerably overweight.
‘Williams just messed up the winter. They messed up the winter developing this new car. They tried to be very ambitious in the way they were building the chassis, tried to go new ways, really innovate,’ Rosberg stated.
The issue of excess weight has plagued Williams since before the season began, with the team missing the pre-season shakedown in Barcelona. Rosberg emphasized the severe impact this has on performance, noting that an extra 10kg can cost three-tenths of a second per lap.
This season’s struggles are a stark contrast to 2025, when the team finished fifth in the Constructors’ Championship and secured two podiums. Currently, Williams sits ninth in the standings with just 11 points after 14 rounds.
Team Principal James Vowles has acknowledged the difficult campaign, admitting the car was late, over budget, and overweight from the start. He explained that the significant 2026 regulation changes exposed underlying organisational issues within the team.
Vowles has conceded that the mistakes made during the winter will affect the entire season and that upcoming upgrades will not be sufficient to consistently fight for points. The team is now fighting an uphill battle to recover lost ground.
Rosberg pointed out that Williams has the competitive Mercedes power unit, suggesting there is ‘no excuse there’. He believes the car’s aerodynamics must also be suboptimal, contributing to the overall lack of pace.
The situation presents a significant challenge for Vowles, who Rosberg rates highly. The former driver noted that the team must now reverse its negative trajectory, a task he described as ‘not easy’.
