Williams show encouraging pace on opening day in Monaco as Albon and Sainz hover near the top 10

Williams continued their upward trend in 2026 with a promising start to the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, placing both cars just outside the top 10 in both Friday sessions.

The FW48 looked composed around the Principality’s tight, low‑speed layout, and the team’s long‑standing weight‑penalty disadvantage appeared far less costly here — a factor Williams themselves had highlighted ahead of the weekend.

With Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz separated by less than a tenth in both sessions, the team heads into Saturday with realistic hopes of pushing for Q3.

The morning session saw Albon finish P11 with a 1:15.989, while Sainz followed closely in P12 with a 1:16.041. Both drivers navigated heavy traffic — an unavoidable feature of Monaco, made even more complex this year with 22 cars on track.

Albon summarised the session with cautious optimism: “Not a bad Friday overall. There's obviously a lot of traffic around this circuit, especially with 22 cars, which makes it tricky to get a lap in clear air.”

He noted the evolving track surface and the challenge of finding grip: “The track is a bit bumpier than last year and I also felt like I was sliding around a lot, so the focus for tomorrow will be on getting the car into a good window.”

Despite the difficulties, Albon was encouraged by Williams’ consistency: “Across both free practice sessions, we were hovering around P11, so I am more optimistic heading into tomorrow.”

And he knows exactly where the battle will be won: “Monaco is obviously all about qualifying and one-lap pace – I think Q1 will be tricky with the traffic, but hopefully we can make the most out of it and put ourselves in a good starting position for the race.”

In the afternoon, Sainz moved ahead of his team‑mate, finishing P12 with a 1:14.512, while Albon placed P13 with a 1:14.600. Once again, the pair were separated by less than a tenth — a sign of a well‑balanced car and a team operating in sync.

Sainz described the day as intense but productive: “Overall, it's been quite an intense Friday, with a lot of disruptions throughout the sessions with yellow and red flags and with 22 cars on track the traffic was tricky.”

Despite the interruptions, Williams executed their run plan effectively: “Having said that, we managed to put together some solid laps and more or less cover our run plan.”

Sainz believes the team is close to the Q3 fight — but needs a step overnight: “Right now, it looks like we’re just outside the top 10, so if we want to fight for Q3 tomorrow we need everything to be perfect and we need to make a good step overnight with car and tyre preparation.”