Carlos Sainz stated that the Williams 2026 season fell far short of expectations and described the team’s performance as a “year of character building” and an “eye-opener.” The statement was made before the Hungarian GP, held on Sunday (26), before the Formula 1 summer break.
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When asked if he expected to reach the break with only six points, the Spaniard was honest: “No, it was neither in my plans nor my expectations,” he said. “I think I was very open and very clear about the fact that, in 2025, we exceeded expectations and, in fact, the results were better than I expected when I signed my contract with Williams in 2024. The 2025 car was a very good car, a car that was sometimes just three or four tenths off pole position, a car where you could feel the balance was good.”
The scenario changed completely in 2026. After finishing last season fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, with 137 points and two podiums from Sainz, Williams decided to anticipate focus on the new technical regulations. However, the strategy did not pay off.
The FW48 debuted overweight and lacking downforce after impact test issues during development. As a result, the team has only 11 points after 11 rounds — six with Sainz and five with Alexander Albon. In the same period in 2025, it was 55. Sainz admitted he expected at least to maintain the previous year’s competitiveness level:
“Obviously, going into 2026, I expected, at best, that with more time to develop the 2026 car and a new set of regulations, we could potentially either stay where we were or take a small step forward,” he added. “However, time has shown me that it was obviously the opposite, or the reverse path, and that, as a team, we are further from the top than we thought we were at the end of 2025.
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“Definitely, it has been a year of character building for the whole team, a bit of an eye-opener in terms of how much work there still is to do if we even want to consider fighting with a top team in the future.”
“Many things have been learned, many things realized, and unfortunately, it has been a bad year so far,” Sainz continued. “We need to conclude and understand why and what happened. I think we already have a pretty good understanding now. The ability to reverse this exists, but obviously in Formula 1 that takes time. It takes time, effort, budget cap money, and a lot of analysis, and that is exactly where we are now.”
An important update is scheduled for the Azerbaijan GP at the end of September, although James Vowles has already stated that it will not be enough to transform the car’s performance. The team’s focus remains on recovery in 2027.
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