The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix provided a wake-up call to Williams in terms of how much work remains to be done, but Carlos Sainz says the team is marking itself as a force to be reckoned with in the future. In fact, he says in some ways he actually welcomes the downturn at the final race as providing a spur for off-season gains.
Sainz scored a surprise podium finish in Qatar one week before the final race of the season, but could not follow that with a point-scoring result at Yas Marina Circuit as he finished 13th. With Alex Albon crossing the line a few seconds behind his teammate, Williams was uncompetitive in Abu Dhabi, and Sainz views it as a good motivator for the team heading into the short off-season.
“I think we were starting 12th and we were the 12-fastest car,” Sainz said. “With nothing exciting happening in that race, we’re always going to finish there – obviously, with [Lewis] Hamilton making it through the pack – to be 13th. I think we just did everything we could to finish in the points.
“There was just simply not enough pace this weekend, which I hope it serves as a good wake-up call to the team in case after a podium you come back to Abu Dhabi thinking you’re going to be strong. Now we were quite weak this weekend. I’m actually happy that this happened, so we’re going into a winter without falling asleep.”
Despite the final race disappointment, Sainz says the way he has been able to secure strong results in the second half of the year shows just how much potential Williams has moving into the next set of technical regulations from 2026.
“I think for sure it’s been a very challenging first half of the season, but I hope all that frustration that I got from that first half, even if we were quick, even if the adaptation was good, if all that frustration meant that then two podiums were meant to come and one podium in the sprint, I definitely welcome that frustration and that lack of points in the first half.
“But I think in the second half I proved to everyone – and myself and Williams proved to everyone – why we made this switch, what we are trying to achieve here and why I think we are a force now to be reckoned with for the future.
“If you would have told me last year that I would have scored those podiums and a P5 in the constructors’ like we are, I would have taken it. I think overall we have to take it as a very positive first year with Williams.”