Yesterday at 14:35
Carlos Sainz has revealed when he expects Williams to have its next
competitive outing following its strong showing at the Azerbaijan
Grand Prix. In mixed conditions during qualifying, Sainz placed his
car on the front row of the grid for the start of the race,
alongside pole-sitter Max Verstappen. The Spaniard maintained his
impressive pace during the grand prix, and although he could not
hold off the Mercedes of George Russell, Sainz crossed the line in
third posiiton. It marked his first podium as a Williams driver and
offered Sainz some relief from the various challenges he has faced
this year. Sainz suggested he does not expect Williams to maintain
its podium-contending form, suggesting Las Vegas will be its best
remaining chance to snatch a strong result. Asked what else was
possible this year, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365,
he said: "Not much more than this, to be honest. "I think the
podium is, unless something crazy happens, maybe our best chance.
"Probably Vegas will be our next best track to try and maybe put
together a top five or a top six, which is what we sometimes can
achieve when everything goes right. "It's a tough ask. I'll fight
for it if it comes, like you've seen [in Azerbaijan]." While Sainz
predicted Williams will be a point-scoring contender for the North
and South American races, the 31-year-old suggested it will endure
a difficult weekend in Qatar, the second-last round of the
campaign. "But the rest, for example, in Qatar, I don't think we
will score points," he said. "That's how much our performance
swings. "But then we will have Austin, Mexico. We will be a pure
midfield car where we can maybe get in the points and keep our
championship going. "So excited to see what happens in those
races."
