19/08/2025 18:20
Carlos Sainz is adamant Williams has made the "right call" in
switching its focus to the looming F1 regulations changes earlier
than its midfield rivals. The James Vowles-led team abandoned the
development of its FW47 after only a few rounds this season as the
Grove-based squad channels its efforts and resources into its 2026
car. Having long maintained that the new F1 rules on the horizon
will be the point at which Williams wants to return to relative
competitiveness, and eyes will be on the nine-time constructors'
champions. The team is seemingly ahead of schedule on its long-term
goal to restore itself to its former glory, currently holding onto
fifth in the constructors' standings as its recovery from the foot
of the F1 standings intensifies. However, rival teams have closed
the points deficit to Williams in recent rounds, and although
already on 70 for the year, Aston Martin is now just 18 back.
Despite this threat, Sainz insists he and the team "still trust the
process" it has embarked on with the hope it will "pay off" down
the line. "If you do such a big commitment from the team to realise
that you're not going to bring many upgrades to a Formula 1 season,
you need to expect that sooner or later you will start falling back
- because this is exactly how Formula 1 works," the 30-year-old
told media, Including RacingNews365 . "And even the midfield teams
- they never sleep. Everyone is bringing, every three or four
races, a bit of a package, a bit of an upgrade. "At Williams, yeah,
we brought a couple of things at the beginning of the year with the
updates of the front wing regulations. But realistically, we
haven't brought anything up until now. So no secrets - we expected
that. "We still believe it's the right call, and we still trust the
process. We still trust that will pay off next year. We are doing a
massive push on next year's car." The 'most frustrating part...'
Still in his first season with Williams, Sainz is still finding his
feet in the team. Whilst team-mate Alex Albon has secured three
fifth-place finishes and scored 54 points, the Spaniard has so far
chipped in just 16. The four-time grand prix winner does not,
however, believe those performances will be replicable for either
driver over the final 10 rounds of the campaign, such is the extent
to which attention has shifted to 2026. Although he was quick to
acknowledge the missed opportunities on his side over the first
part of the year. "I've already had a few simulator sessions with
it," he explained. "In debriefs, we almost talk more about next
year than we talk about this year - even if we are racing this
year. "I guess the most frustrating part is that when we had a very
competitive car in races like Miami and Imola - that's when we had
the chance, maybe with both cars, to score top fives. "I was in the
top five all the way through those races until something out of my
control happened. And that's where we're missing 20, 30 points that
could give us that extra bit of space in the championship. But
that's how the year has decided to go. "Now that we have maybe a
less competitive car, we need to get those small points. Maybe
we're not going to fight for P5s, P4s like we did at the time, but
we can still get top 10s, top 8s that will help in our
championship."
