The Spanish driver Carlos Sainz maintains his firm conviction that he can achieve the Formula 1 world championship with Williams. Sainz joined the British team at the beginning of this season, after being affected by Ferrari’s decision to sign seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. His debut season with the Grove-based team hasn’t been as smooth as he’d hoped, with a combination of inconsistency, bad luck, and strategic errors that have earned him only 16 points in the first 15 races. Despite this, the 31-year-old driver has seen enough to remain confident that he made the right decision in joining Williams.
Confidence in the Williams Project
Yes. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Ferrari and my other experiences, it’s that I know that with the right people around me I can develop a competitive car and team. Sainz added that this gives him a lot of confidence, as he knows how to guide a large organization in the right direction, what the car needs to perform and what is the right structure for a team. In addition, he is eager to help Williams in this process. The Spanish driver has also noted a positive response at the base and the factory, where everything is going according to his expectations. For Sainz, the key is whether they can materialize it, but he feels that Williams is still the right place for his future.
Sainz regrets not having been able to score as many points as he deserved due to the speed he has shown with the car. Williams team principal James Vowles has made it clear that they are building a long-term project, focused on the new regulations that will come into effect next year, but admitting that some elements could take until 2028 to materialize. This means that Sainz’s debut season has largely been a learning year, where the four-time race winner is not expected to be on the podium. Sainz admits that he has had to change his mentality, adding that what he misses most is the pressure and excitement of competing every weekend knowing that they are fighting for a podium or a victory. The Spanish driver concludes that, apart from that, his competitive spirit ignites every weekend, without the need for adjustments. He feels that, the more they work this year, the sooner the feeling of winning and stepping onto the podium will return.From my point of view, if I use Alex as a reference, I feel that the speed has been present from the beginning. We have been very evenly matched in pure speed, which is usually what costs the most when you change teams. So I am relatively happy and proud of that adaptation process.
Carlos Sainz
