Carlos Sainz has spoken of “very big contrasts” he faced in his first Formula 1 season with Williams, giving him a “realistic” approach amid his integration into the team.
The Spaniard joined the Grove-based squad this year, after four years with Ferrari, and suffered a difficult first half of the campaign.
But Sainz’s performances, luck and therefore results picked up, and podiums at both Baku and Qatar saw him end the year ninth in the Drivers’ Championship.
The combined efforts of him and team-mate Alex Albon saw Williams finish fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, the FW47 proving to be the quickest midfield car.
Speaking to F1.com, Sainz revealed that he had a frank conversation with Team Principal James Vowles in the off-season, which helped open his eyes to the situation within the team.
“After a tough end to 2024, with a lot of crashes, lacking parts, and being slow in Abu Dhabi, James was like, ‘Next year’s car is going to be okay. We’re going to be quick. It’s going to be a good step’,” he said.
“The moment we put the new car on track for testing in Bahrain, I realised how much of a big step the team had done.
“But then, as much as he told me those positives, James also said, ‘You’re going to see some very big flaws that we have as a team at the moment’. He was very honest about it, he spoke sense, and he was very realistic.”
Sainz: Vowles approach left him with no ‘nasty surprises’ amid Williams integration
Sainz added that he found a gulf within Williams where there were many aspects of the team that were operating at a level of one of the ‘big four’ teams, but also a number of things that it lagged behind on.
“The thing about Williams is there are so many areas where the team is closer to the top than what I would have expected it to be, but then I also found some other areas that we are very far behind,” the 31-year-old explained.
“For me, it’s about being very vocal and very clear about the areas that are not good enough.
“There are very big contrasts in this team. You have incredibly talented people, you have very good ideas, but then there are other things – processes, tools, simulation – where the team is really, really far behind.
“It’s how we accelerate the process, and everyone’s working flat-out to develop those weaknesses to make sure we are a top team.”
Sainz praised both Vowles and the Dorilton Capital ownership of the team for their transparency within the situation, giving Sainz an exploratory year as he prepares to help Williams and himself back to the top of F1.
“I feel like the good thing is the management, in this case, James and [Dorilton Capital] were always super honest to me about them,” he said.
“All of the [weaknesses] have been briefed, I haven’t found any nasty surprises, and I’ve just gone into it being realistic, knowing that the only thing I can do is give my best to try and help.”
READ MORE – Motorsport Week’s F1 Moments of 2025: Carlos Sainz returns Williams to the rostrum in Baku
Discussion about this post