Carlos Sainz Finally Turning the Corner at Williams After Rocky Start

Carlos Sainz's debut as a Williams driver has been lackluster on the track, with still no points scored in 2025, but he seems to be finally getting sorted with the team.

Sainz left the illustrious Ferrari after the team acquired Lewis Hamilton, leaving him with minimal options down the grid.

After receiving a serious sales pitch from Williams team principal James Vowles, Sainz chose to believe in the new leadership at the team and signed a multi-year deal.

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At Bahrain, the Spanish driver managed to achieve a significant breakthrough, outqualifying his teammate for the first time this year, finishing an impressive P8 in what has been his strongest session with the team so far.

The race was ultimately ruined after Tsunoda destroyed his sidepod during an on-track battle, but there was a sense of palpable momentum for the previous race-winning driver.

Vamos, Carlos 👏

Reflecting on a positive day in Jeddah as we look to produce a strong Quali on Saturday 👊
— Atlassian Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) April 18, 2025

The car and team feature many different characteristics compared to Ferrari, including an entirely new power unit.

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“It’s just little steps with trying to adapt my driving style a bit to the car, little steps with set-up, trying to get it into a better window,” he told the media after Free Practice 2.

“It’s a bit my driving and the limitations that we have this year and we’re trying to make little steps."

“Some things seemed to work, others didn’t. We did a decent lap on softs that put us quite high on the timesheets today. Let’s see if we can keep it up tomorrow. I hope so.”

“I’m trying so many different things with my set-up and my driving that for sure, you see progress."

"Sometimes I try something but I go backwards and that then makes me go forwards, because I know which direction I don’t need to go in."

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At the end of Free Practice 2, Sainz finished in the top five, showcasing additional pace that he has seemingly unlocked from the car. If he can manage to have a clean Saturday, he could once again race on the front foot and demonstrate his high-level craft by defending on track.

Straight to reviewing the data post session 📊 pic.twitter.com/aCOy4O8SWA
— Atlassian Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) April 18, 2025

Given the pace shown so far at Jeddah, his first points finish could be on the cards, especially if all the changes he tries lead to more progress than setbacks.

“The same applies to my driving. I try little things with my driving style and the switches in the car and sometimes I go backwards, but sometimes, it helps me go forwards," he said.

"It’s an adaptation process and the time that I am giving myself to understand these things. I was warned it was going to take time and it is taking time, but when I get it, I’ll be there.”

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