Aug.7 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has urged Williams to pursue a “change in design philosophy” after enduring a difficult Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.
The Spaniard, 30, has been frank about the 2025 car’s limitations since switching from Ferrari, but stopped short of criticising the team – instead offering insight and a dose of realism about their current position.
“A change in design philosophy is needed to ensure next year’s car performs well on different circuits,” Sainz told AS after finishing 14th in Budapest. “Hungary has always been a difficult track for the team.”
In particular, he highlighted the car’s poor performance in long corners – a weakness now visible across multiple venues.
“We have poorer aerodynamic characteristics in long corners, where you need to maintain downforce from entry to the middle of the corner. These things fail us; it’s been a long-standing tendency,” he said. “That’s why short corners and straights suit us better. On tracks like Barcelona, Hungary, or Qatar, the car suffers.”
Sainz added that he held a long debrief after qualifying to offer feedback based on his experience.
“I’ve gone from a team that was on pole to one that’s 13th. I can give a lot of feedback on what this car is missing at a circuit like this.”
Although Williams has largely sidelined 2025 development all season to focus on next year, Sainz remains committed to maximising every weekend.
“I tried three or four different [setups] in Hungary and ended up going back to the car that gave me competitive qualifying runs in Miami and Imola,” he said. “If we’d had clean weekends in Spa, Miami, or Imola, we would have scored a lot of points.”
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