Photo: Race Pictures

Not even Verstappen's Grand Slam: This driver was the best in Baku!

21:40, 21 Sep

Updated: 22:55, 21 Sep

byOlly Darcy

For the first time since the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz found his way onto the podium, hailing a "perfect weekend" in Baku that saw him take the 'Driver of the Day' accolade.

If you asked many of us yesterday, we didn’t believe the podium was actually achievable

- Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz celebrating his P3 finish with Williams in Baku | Photo: Race Pictures

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix threw in plenty of surprises throughout the weekend, but Sainz's consistency saw him convert his P2 in qualifying to a podium finish.

That result for the 31-year-old saw him rocket up the drivers' standings, surging to P12 with 31 points after collecting 15 in Baku and a driver of the day award.

But can the Spaniard replicate this level of performance for the rest of the season? "I think this podium finish is — unless something crazy happens — maybe our best chance," Sainz explained.

"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.

"I’ll fight for it if it comes, like you’ve seen today. But the rest, for example, in Qatar, I don’t think we will score points. That’s how much our performance swings.

"But then we will have the Austins, the Mexicos. 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."

Driver of the day performance leads to "reset" for Sainz

After moving to Williams from Ferrari for the 2025 season, it has been an up-and-down year for Sainz, struggling for consistency and a bit of luck at times.

However, Sunday's podium finish showed the potential the Spaniard and his British team have going into the 2026 season and the new regulations.

Team principal James Vowles stated that this weekend in Baku will be "a reset point" after a challenging start to the year. "You'll see now the positive momentum it generates," continued the Brit.