Sainz excited by the promise shown by Williams: 'Have the potential for wins and championships'

09:51, 21 May

Updated: 10:56, 21 May

byOlly Darcy

Carlos Sainz believes that Williams will be able to "fight for race wins and championships" in the future, with 2025 "the time" to grow as a team, also admitting that the "car is not going to be developed" this campaign.

The British team are steeped in F1 history, winning nine constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles in its history since Frank Williams founded the team in 1977.

However, since 1997, Williams have been unable to fight and secure any titles, struggling to compete at the front of the grid for many years afterwards.

However, in 2025, things look to be turning a corner, with 51 points from seven Grands Prix a positive and promising start to the season, backed up by Alex Albon's back-to-back P5 finishes at the Miami and Emilia-Romagna Grands Prix.

Albon sits P8 in the championship with 40 points, while Sainz has only been able to collect 11 points this year, sitting in P11

Sainz buoyed by Williams' potential

For Sainz, since making the move from Ferrari, after he was replaced by Lewis Hamilton, to join Williams, he hasn't had as much joy as his teammate, with mistakes costing him some more points. But he believes that it's the right time to be having these issues.

"Yes, it's the time [to be doing that]," the Spaniard said in the paddock at Imola, speaking to several media sources, including GPblog.

"Williams is not fighting for any World Championships, but I do believe Williams has the potential to fight for race wins and championships in the future. It's a very young team, a very young project, and we found Sunday, in a very good position this year, to be fighting World Championship teams, which are Mercedes and Ferrari.

"We were quicker than them in Miami, we're quicker than them today. We didn't beat them in Miami, on my side, we didn't beat them today, so we need to learn how to beat them. I was quicker all weekend than them. As I said, better to learn this year, just in case next year we have an even more competitive car to fight for something more important. At the same time, we need to see progress this year, and there are already a lot of points that we are giving up on my side on Sundays, that, for some reason, on Alex's side, he is doing really good on executing," continued Sainz.

No more development for the British team

The 30-year-old was then asked if there is going to be any more changes to the car that may see the find their way up the grid even more.

"No, the resources are clear. This car is not going to be developed," Sainz firmly answered.

"The car that we have is good enough to be on par with Mercedes and Ferrari at some circuits, like we saw in Miami and here. It's not good enough for other circuits like Barcelona. You will see we will not be in the fight. Who knows in Monaco? We will see.

"What we need to get better at is executing at the weekends, and when we have a competitive car like in Miami or Imola, we need to make sure we get the top fives and the top fours that potentially we could have got today. I'm confident that on that side, given my experience, also in that area, I'm going to improve the team, or the same way that I'm improving the team in other areas. We need to make progress," the Spaniard concluded.