Are we finally seeing the real Carlos Sainz at Williams? 

When Ferrari opted to replace Sainz with Lewis Hamilton, the general consensus was that it was a harsh move. The Smooth Operator had outperformed teammate Charles Leclerc on many occasions and racked up nine podiums during a relatively successful 2024 campaign.

Rather than getting picked up by Red Bull, Mercedes, or KICK Sauber (soon to be Audi), Sainz ended up going to Williams. Joining a Grove outfit that has struggled in recent years was a questionable move, and this decision was compounded by three pointless opening races out of four in 2025.

However, Sainz bounced back to finish P8 in Jeddah, at one stage even slowing down to give Williams teammate Alex Albon DRS, underlining his growing confidence in new surroundings. The Spaniard said: “I think I just need to keep doing what I'm doing.

Taking it step by step, race by race. I'm just building up through the season. I always said it was not going to be easy, and the first three races proved it. But then, following my way of doing things and my philosophy of learning a car, it's just working and going in the right direction.

“We’ll still face setbacks and difficult moments along the way, learning the car and [being] in this adaptation process. But as long as I keep it cool and I keep doing my own thing, I think I can get to a very high level in Formula 1, like I've shown before, and I can perform weekends like I did this weekend.”

Upon signing for Williams, Sainz said he was “convinced that the team had all the ingredients to make history again.” But by the time Melbourne rolled around, the PR fluff had well and truly subsided. Under the safety car, the 30-year-old binned it, while Albon snatched fifth place.

This surprisingly bad start was alleviated slightly by a tenth-place finish in China, but he was still 20 seconds behind his Thai teammate. He then came fourteenth in Japan and was forced to retire in Bahrain after contact with new Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda.

Things weren’t looking good heading to Saudi either. Following the race in Japan, he’d bemoaned having to burn his tires up ‘fighting quicker cars’ and falling back through the field. Yet, as soon as he landed in Jeddah, it was like seeing Sainz 2.0.

He was constantly on a par with (or quicker than) Albon, qualified a brilliant sixth, and played the team game to secure a double-points finish for Williams. Post-race, Sainz said that team boss James Vowles “had to be happy” with a result that saw them get the best point haul possible.

“Today was probably the first race where I maximized what the Williams can do. It's only my fifth race with the team, and I’m very glad, very happy that I'm doing that," added Sainz.

“It was a busy race trying to keep Alex [Albon] in my DRS and keep [Isack] Hadjar from overtaking him. But, you know, I think we did good teamwork. We did everything we could, even though we didn't have the easiest of times in the pit lane. But then we managed to keep it cool and bring home the P8."

Of course, things can change quickly in the world of F1. Sainz’s outstanding qualifying in Saudi was facilitated by Lando Norris’ crash. Pierre Gasly, who finished P9 in that session, was also just two tenths off—nothing an upgrade couldn’t bridge.

Elsewhere, Williams has become the first team on the grid to finish wind tunnel development on their current car. As the season continues, Albon reckons their midfield rivals will therefore catch up, so Williams need to take maximum points before that happens.

Albon explained: “We have to be quite realistic. We don't know what everyone's doing in terms of priority for next year. We've gotten off to a hot start, which kind of changes the dynamic of how well we want to do this season or sacrifice next season.

"We want to make a big step for next year. Now is the time to score points, really. With a good start, we have to score points every weekend. We don't know when the next midfield team is going to bring an upgrade, and when they do, that could be our run over.”

With F1’s 2026 regulations set to bring huge changes to the sport, Williams may be right to pour their resources into nailing things next year. In the meantime, Sainz and Albon will need to make hay while the sun is shining to avoid this season turning into one to forget. (Quotes from F1TV & Motorsport.com)