Carlos Sainz says Williams now in same situation McLaren were in in 2019

McLaren have gone through the pains of improving and finally succeeded in 2024 by winning that year's F1 Constructors' Championship. They went one step better in 2025, winning both titles, with Lando Norris bagging a maiden Drivers' Crown.

However, Williams are still not out of the woods, with their fifth place in the 2025 Constructors' Championship seemingly a false dawn for the Grove team as they started 2026 on the back foot with a car that was late and turned out overweight when it finally hit the track.

Sainz reflected: "I think every team on every journey is completely different, but the stage that I think I found Williams in 2025, I think I would say it's a very similar journey to where I found McLaren in 2019, 2020.

"I don't know how long it will take Williams compared to McLaren, and still, what McLaren has done of becoming World Champions eventually is an extremely difficult task.

"Because even if Williams can become more competitive through the next few years, then to win is another step that is even more difficult," the Spaniard warned. "So congratulations to McLaren for that. But yeah, I would say Williams is in a similar point from where McLaren were in 2019."

And regardless of their current woes, Sainz insisted he was committed to Williams; he said: "[Williams is] a life project.

"Because I'm 31 years old now, and I feel I can enter the next few years of my career with a very clear target in mind, which is try and help this team and go back to the front of the field," he concluded. (Source: Beyond the Grid)