Carlos Sainz makes new Williams admission with key issue not ‘getting any better’
Carlos Sainz has had a frustrating start to life at Williams
Carlos Sainz has admitted that he and Williams are not “getting any better at putting things together” on a race weekend in F1 2025.
Yet he remains convinced that a breakthrough is “about to come” as a reward for their work behind the scenes.
Carlos Sainz still struggling to ‘put things together’ at Williams
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Sainz has had a largely disappointing start to his Williams career following his high-profile move from Ferrari at the end of last season.
The Spaniard has finished no higher than eighth across his first 14 appearances for his new team and trails team-mate Alex Albon by 38 points in the Drivers’ standings.
Despite Sainz’s lack of points, Williams remains on course for its best finish in the Constructors’ standings since the 2017 season.
The Grove-based team currently occupies fifth place with an 18-point advantage over nearest challenger Aston Martin.
Carlos Sainz vs Alex Albon: Williams head-to-head scores for F1 2025
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com at the recent Hungarian Grand Prix, Sainz declared that securing fifth place would be a fitting reflection of the progress Williams has made ahead of the significant opportunity presented by the new F1 2026 rules.
Yet he conceded that his side of the garage is still struggling with execution on individual grand prix weekends, with the situation not “getting any better” at the moment.
Asked what it would mean for Williams to finish fifth this season, Sainz said: “For me, it would be, I think, as a team, a successful year to score fifth in the championship and show massive progress.
“Again, it would show the positive direction of the team, the gathering momentum into ’26 with all the big changes that are happening and everything that we are investing into ’26.
“For me, it’s important that, even if I’m taking my time to adapt to a team and the car… I don’t think I took my time to adapt to a car, I think I was quite quick straight away.
“It’s just getting results and putting things together that has been a struggle since the beginning of the year – and still it doesn’t seem like we’re getting any better at putting things together.
“But it will come at some point and, in the meantime, I’ll just keep my head down.
“I’m pretty sure the result is about to come.”
More on Carlos Sainz and Williams from PlanetF1.com
Sainz has cited the lack of testing time available in modern F1 as a key factor behind his slow adaptation to life at Williams, telling media including PlanetF1.com of his desire to see more pre-season testing.
He has also claimed that fans struggle to appreciate the challenges facing drivers after a change of team, pointing to Lewis Hamilton’s struggles at Ferrari in the first half of F1 2025 as the seven-time World Champion adapts to his new surroundings.
Speaking at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this season, Nico Rosberg, the 2016 World Champion, claimed that Sainz’s significant points deficit to Albon will be “very, very uncomfortable” for the former Ferrari driver.
Rosberg, the former Williams and Mercedes star, said: “It’s not been the easiest of starts to the season.
“Alex has done a fantastic job. We’ve seen the flashes of brilliance from Carlos, but it’s been a bit up and down.
“And also, especially if you look at the points now, he is very, very far behind Alex on the points.
“That’s very, very uncomfortable for him to be in that kind of situation.
“But we know he’s a great driver so I’m sure he’ll find his feet there within the team and get going.
“I think the rest of the season should be a good one, but Alex Albon has been impressive.”
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