Sainz: Podium in Baku with Williams, “better than first”

Williams driver Carlos Sainz expressed that his third place in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was even more gratifying than the first podium of his career. The experienced driver, who has 28 podium finishes in 11 Formula 1 seasons, including four victories with Ferrari, achieved his first podium with Williams and highlighted the emotion he felt.

Honestly, I can’t describe how happy I am, how good this feels. This is even better than my first podium.

Carlos Sainz

Sainz, who started the race from second position on the grid after a qualifying session full of unexpected events, maintained a solid performance during the 53 laps, yielding only one position to George Russell of Mercedes, who employed a different strategy.

Sainz highlighted the effort of the entire Williams team during a complicated year, demonstrating significant progress compared to the previous year.

We are on the rise; we are going in the right direction. Unfortunately, we have had a lot of bad luck, many incidents, very difficult to convert all that rhythm into results. But now I understand why it all happened, because the first podium needed to come like that. It’s life, you know?

Carlos SainzFollowing Williams’ shift in focus towards 2026, Sainz anticipates that the podium in Baku could be the highlight of his debut season with the team. Sainz hopes that Las Vegas will be the next track where the team can aim for a result in the top five or six.