Williams hoping Silverstone upgrades can halt slide after difficult Austrian Grand Prix

Williams endured another frustrating weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz retiring due to a suspected power unit issue and Alex Albon unable to challenge for points as the Grove-based squad struggled for pace throughout the race.

Sainz's afternoon came to an abrupt end midway through the race when his FW48 suddenly lost power on the main straight, bringing out a brief Virtual Safety Car.

While the interruption had little impact on the outcome of the race, it capped another disappointing weekend for Williams as reliability issues added to the team's ongoing performance concerns.

Despite the retirement, Sainz was encouraged by improvements made to the car ahead of the race and believes a small upgrade package due to arrive at this weekend's British Grand Prix could help Williams move back towards the midfield battle.

"We had better race pace today than in practice but ultimately, we're still quite far off the pace of our rivals. We made a few changes which made the car more drivable, and we were fighting cars we did not expect to fight, which is a positive sign.

"However, sadly a PU issue meant my car suddenly switched off. It's clear we are not where we want to be in terms of performance, but we're bringing a small upgrade to Silverstone which will hopefully put us back in a more competitive position."

Albon also endured a difficult afternoon, eventually finishing 17th after lacking the pace to challenge the midfield. The Thai driver admitted Williams struggled with tyre degradation and performance through the faster corners, but echoed his team-mate's optimism that the upcoming upgrades can provide a much-needed boost.

"It's been a poor weekend overall; we simply did not have the pace to compete with the midfield. We struggled with tyre deg and lacked pace throughout the medium and high-speed corners, so there is plenty to analyse ahead of the next race.

"We are currently experimenting and covering every avenue to find performance before our upgrades arrive. Looking ahead to Silverstone, we'll bring a small upgrade package that we hope will move us closer to the likes of Haas and VCARB, so we're hopeful these updates will be the start of us moving in the right direction."

Team Principal James Vowles admitted Williams were simply not competitive enough in the hot conditions at Spielberg but remained confident the team would quickly understand the cause of Sainz's retirement.

He also praised the improvements made by the pit crew before looking ahead to the team's home race, where Williams hopes its latest developments will deliver a step forward.

"It was a tough day in these warmer conditions, with the car not in the place we need it to be at the moment - we were simply unable to fight for points.

"For Carlos, unfortunately, it looks like we may have had a PU issue, which resulted in the car shutting down on the straight. We will investigate the fault, however Mercedes have always been incredible at making sure we bring performance and reliability, so I have no doubt we'll be in a strong place come next week.

"What I was pleased to see is our pit stops were on point today. Well done to the team, who have been working diligently over the last six months - the dividends from that are paying off.

"Looking ahead, Silverstone is one of the races where we're bringing small upgrades and hope to take a step forward relative to the field. It's at difficult times like this that we pull together, reset, and come back swinging."