F1: Q&A with Carlos Sainz

Now that you’ve got had a full 12 months to settle into the staff, how totally different does it really feel coming into 2026 with that basis in place?

Carlos Sainz: Effectively, in some ways, a second season with the staff will really feel very totally different as a result of I’ve met all of the those who I needed to meet. Clearly, there nonetheless are a whole lot of new faces coming in into the staff over the previous couple of months, however I’ll know primarily all of the core folks of my staff, which can make issues rather a lot higher, much more streamlined to work with. On the identical time, every thing can be utterly new over again. It is a utterly new automobile, a totally new set of laws, so all of the expertise that I gathered with the FW47 and methods to drive it, methods to be as quick as I might be on the finish of the season with it, now it is all all the way down to zero. Now we have to realize all that the expertise and information over again, so it is very excited.

If we informed you at the start of final 12 months that you’d obtain a number of podium finishes, how would you might have felt? Did the outcomes surpass all your expectations?CS: I believe so, clearly you at all times go into a brand new undertaking with very excessive expectations, and my expectations have been at all times excessive going into this undertaking with Williams. If at the start of the 12 months you’ll have informed me we might have scored a few podiums, one dash podium, however particularly P5 within the Constructors Championship, drivers within the prime ten of the drivers, I believe that might have been a extremely good 12 months. I believe we had a really strong first 12 months collectively and now we have to construct from it.

This season marks the start of Components 1’s new laws. With such a giant reset throughout the game, how are you liking the problem and what excites you most about adapting to this new era of vehicles?CS: On one hand, I am very excited now as a result of it is a utterly new set of laws, which suggests all of the groups and all of the drivers begin from a clear sheet of paper the place we need to maximize that chance to the perfect of our skills. On the identical time, I’d have favored a pair extra years with an ordinary set of laws to maintain on my adaptation and hold bringing my information to Williams about every thing I knew concerning the outdated set of laws. It is one of many primary the explanation why I moved to this staff and why I selected Williams as my future undertaking, as a result of I trusted rather a lot within the trajectory that we have been on within the undertaking going into these new set of laws. I am hoping that we will do one other good step in the suitable route.

What are your private targets for 2026, and what do you assume the staff can obtain on this first 12 months of the brand new guidelines?CS: I believe it’s inconceivable to set sure targets at the start of this 12 months as a result of it is so new, so totally different. I believe it is the most important, greatest set of regulation modifications since 2014 or perhaps a larger one. To place an goal of the place you are going to end within the championship, the place you need to end within the constructors, it is virtually an inconceivable job for me. The place I’ll be in search of is how properly the staff is progressing in all of the areas that we all know we have been nonetheless missing and we’re nonetheless weak. So for me, the elemental factor goes to be to maintain seeing progress from the place we completed final 12 months and to maintain seeing a constructive pattern like we have been seeing.

You and Alex enter your second season collectively as teammates, how has your working relationship developed over the previous 12 months? And the way do you push the staff collectively to maneuver ahead?CS: The working relationship with Alex was at all times excellent from the start, from this time final 12 months it was already an excellent, strong relationship the place we already labored very onerous by way of the winter collectively. One 12 months after that we all know one another very properly. We all know one another’s strengths and weaknesses, the place I might help in sure areas, the place he might help in different areas. Combining his expertise with mine, but additionally our good, wholesome working, aggressive relationship. I believe we might help Williams fairly a bit this 12 months, particularly as a result of I believe expertise goes to be fairly essential going into a brand new set of laws.

One space the place the staff is certainly making large progress is off observe commercially. Plenty of new companions becoming a member of the staff this 12 months, simply as they did final winter. What does it imply to have assist from such manufacturers who need to be a part of this journey and push it ahead?CS: I want to welcome all our new companions and particularly thank them, , for supporting Williams, supporting our trajectory. I believe they will be elementary within the subsequent few years in serving to us rework this staff right into a championship profitable staff. And I am certain with their assist, we will do all of it collectively. I am very proud to be a part of a staff that so many essential manufacturers all around the globe are actually becoming a member of us and so they need to be a part of it. So welcome to them and let’s work collectively in the direction of a greater future.