Carlos Sainz has theorised his struggles at Williams stem from “habits” picked up during his four-year Formula 1 stint at Ferrari.
Sainz is racing with his fifth team in 11 seasons and arrives at Williams after becoming a four-time Grand Prix winner at Italian giants Ferrari.
The Spaniard spoke positively during his post-season test in the Williams FW46 in December and set the fastest time of pre-season testing in Bahrain, but admitted then he was missing knowledge of how to find the ultimate pace of his new F1 challenger.
Across two rounds, he’s fallen short of team-mate Alex Albon and, in Shanghai last time out, admitted to struggling.
Speaking to select media, including Motorsport Week in Japan, Sainz attributed his struggles to learning a particular driving style with Ferrari.
“I was used to a certain type of car in Ferrari, which made me end up driving, especially since 2022, in a very specific way, to extract everything about that car,” he explained.
“And you fall into, let’s say, habits in your driving, that then you apply to the next car.
“It might work in some corners, but in others it makes you very weak. And that’s probably a bit of it.
“Then there’s also a side of set-up that can help me drive in the way I like to drive a car and we’re also working on that. So it’s probably just uniting both.
“The car has completely different strengths and weaknesses to the car I used to be driving for three years, and that I was so quick with last year.”
Sainz sets out timeframe to fully adapt to Williams
The “biggest challenge” facing Sainz is adapting how he approaches a corner in the FW47, which is radically different to the approach he had with Ferrari.
But having switched teams several times, it’s a challenge Sainz knows only too well.
“From a driving perspective, the biggest challenge that you can have is to relearn a bit the way to approach a corner because you have a certain level of muscle memory, and especially under pressure in qualifying you tend to go back to the way you drive,” he said.
“It’s something that takes time and lot of effort from a mental and driving perspective, but it’s a challenge that I’ve always enjoyed and managed to get on top of in all my career.
“I’ve driven five different cars, different sets of regulations, and probably two races are still not enough to understand that.”
If two races aren’t enough, then how long will it take Sainz to be at one with the Williams FW47?
According to the man himself, he’s seeking “naturally quick” in less than half a season
“If your 100% is to close your eyes and you’re just naturally quick, then it takes even more than a year to get to that point,” Sainz admitted.
“If your 100% is just to perform at a very high level in F1, which is where I want to get to as soon as possible, that for me should take less than half a year; five to 10 races.
“And that’s what I am expecting and targeting myself to be as soon as I get to different kinds of tracks, surfaces and grip levels.”
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