Jul.6 (GMM) Carlos Sainz’s new marriage to Williams is not yet all smiles, one former Formula 1 driver insists.
As rumours swirled around both Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda’s futures at Red Bull, one reporter asked Sainz if he might be up for a return to the energy drink company’s F1 family in 2026.
“Williams knows that it has my commitment for the next two years and beyond, if the situation allows,” the Spaniard replied.
“I believe in the trajectory we’re on, and I am very confident with the choice I made.”
However, the recent ‘trajectory’ has been repeated car reliability problems and completely stalled car development – and Sainz is making no secret of either.
“We have spent most of the weekend trying to understand our reliability issues,” said the 30-year-old at Silverstone, “and you’ve seen that we’re having quite a few.”
As for the stalled car development, team boss James Vowles never hid that the going would get tough as 2025 progressed as Williams is putting all of its eggs in the 2026 basket.
“We warned from the beginning of the season that this could happen,” Sainz acknowledged. “We said that we weren’t going to touch the car this year because we’re putting everything on the line for next year’s car.”
However, he added that it’s not easy to be “going backwards” weekend after weekend.
“The reality is that the others are running many improvement packages – Aston, Sauber, Racing Bulls. In the end that slowly pushes you back.”
Former F1 driver Christijan Albers thinks Sainz’s attitude at Silverstone is significant.
“Wow, these are quite some statements,” the Dutchman told Viaplay.
“We’re not even halfway through the season and he’s already starting to say that they’re behind with the upgrades compared to the other teams.
“I don’t think it’s nice to say that – not in this way, anyway. You have to stand behind your team,” Albers insisted.
He thinks Sainz’s strident form could be a way to offload some of the pressure from his own shoulders.
“Everyone was convinced that Sainz would make it at Williams,” said Albers. “You can see that Alexander Albon has developed really well. But while he’s not a bad driver, he’s not a top driver like (Max) Verstappen, (George) Russell, (Charles) Leclerc.
“You can see that Sainz is having a really hard time there.”
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