Carlos Sainz said ahead of the Formula 1 Spanish GP that Williams is ‘putting all the eggs in next year’s basket’ after a disappointing season so far.
Williams sit ninth in the Constructor’s Standings, having picked up a total of 11 points in the earlier stages of the year. Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon haven’t added any more points to their tally since Monaco, but the team will bring an upgraded chassis to the next race in Azerbaijan.
Carlos Sainz said ahead of the Spanish GP that he believes the upgrade will improve performance, but he has been left wanting after Williams promised to deliver more in 2026.
Speaking to media in Madrid, Sainz expressed his frustration at being “nowhere near” the performance he had hoped for.
“Yes, I think that upgrade is going to definitely help us to get ourselves closer to potentially fighting for some points. But realistically speaking, that’s nowhere near where we wanted to be this year, nowhere near what we promised,” he said in the FIA Press Conference on Thursday.
“So, it’s still not enough and it’s still not where we want to be. So, it’s an upgrade that will help a bit the motivation of the team and just to look into the weekend with something to look forward to, maybe to potentially get a point or two when we were like we were at the beginning of the year.
“But it’s nowhere near where we want to be and I think our biggest hope is putting all the eggs in next year’s basket.”
Carlos Sainz still believes in Williams
The Spaniard recently signed a ‘multi-year’ contract extension with Williams, reaffirming his faith in the team despite the on-track struggles.
“Yeah, obviously if I signed that contract, it’s because I still believe in the team. I still believe that this is just a bump on the road, on where we are and the capability that this team has to turn it around.
“I think, honestly, what we’ve learned this year is so many lessons and so many things that we got wrong, or that we believed we were at a certain standard and we are clearly not, that I think this bump that we just hit is going to help the team massively to change fundamental things that we were doing wrong, to become a better team in the future.
He went on to highlight the importance of learning from the ‘bump on the road’ that the 2026 season has been for Williams, and using that to better the team in the future.
“Having said that, I think it’s extremely important that we bounce back next year already and that we show a promising sign of bounce-back next year because I think it’s very important to make sure this is just a small bump on the road rather than a prolonged time in the year. And also, I think we’ve taken a lot of conclusions, a lot of things that we have to change as a team, and this is going to help us to become a better team in the future.
“It’s been a bigger bump than expected and, for sure, it’s not what we all wanted. But, yeah, I’m hoping that next year we will already look a lot better.”
Although having re-signed for Williams, Sainz is clearly expecting improvement from the Grove outfit in the years ahead.
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