Struggles and Potential: Carlos Sainz’s Adaptation with Williams

The shift of Carlos Sainz to Williams has been one of the most significant changes on the grid this season, reminiscent of Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. However, the Spaniard has found it challenging to adapt to a car that is starkly different from his previous ride at Scuderia. Ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend, Sainz shared more insights into his current struggles but remains optimistic about the FW47’s potential.

Struggling with an Underlying Balance Issue

Despite being outperformed by teammate Alex Albon so far this season, Sainz displayed impressive pace at the Bahrain Grand Prix before his car met an unfortunate retirement. Speaking about his performance, he said, “Last weekend, I felt like I was, for the first time in the year, being close to extracting… I think the maximum amount of the car in single-lap pace.” He added that there are still areas for improvement and fine-tuning in both his driving style and the car setup.

Sainz has been grappling with a persistent balance issue that the team is trying to rectify. This problem is consistent and affects both drivers, appearing more pronounced in medium to low-speed corners. “It’s pretty much every lap. It’s there. It’s part of a characteristic of the car,” he explained.

Sainz believes that Alex Albon also feels this balance issue but has grown accustomed to it due to his long association with the car. “For me, it’s more a bit of a new – or let’s say, yeah, a new issue or a new thing that I’m trying to get my driving, my setup, and my understanding around it,” he added.

Sainz emphasized the importance of addressing this balance issue for the team’s progress. “As a team, it’s fundamental that we improve this because this might be the thing that is holding Williams back in the last few years, you know, and we need to all together understand it to try and move forward this car and try to apply to [the] next set of regulations.

Unlocking the Car’s Potential

Sainz is determined to unlock the potential of the FW47, which he believes could propel them towards a brighter future. “This is one thing that I’m being very clear with the team is: if we manage to improve this, there is a lot of potential in this car, a lot of potential in this team. If we manage to unlock what is doing this, and what part of the car is doing this, I’m 100% sure we can do very big steps forward, which is also actually quite an encouraging thing.

Ambitious Targets for Jeddah

Team principal James Vowles has set ambitious targets for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. “Our intention is to have both cars in Q3 in Jeddah, and there’s little reason to see that we don’t have the ability to do that,” he said. However, he cautioned that a tenth of a second could separate five cars, making qualifying positions unpredictable.

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix begins with free practice 1 at 16:30 track time on 18 April. The team is hopeful that they can unlock the potential of their car and make significant strides forward in Jeddah.