The ongoing Formula 1 world championship season presents a stark and challenging contrast for Carlos Sainz. Following a highly promising 2025 campaign with the Grove-based outfit, the Spanish driver now finds himself battling at the rear of the grid with the Williams squad. Despite the dismal performance of their current package, Sainz firmly believes that his driving standard and technical maturity have reached a level far surpassing his previous stint with Ferrari.
Sainz's high-profile switch to the British team for the 2025 season occurred after his seat at the Scuderia was taken by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. He immediately exceeded expectations by securing two podium finishes, propelling the team to fifth in the constructors' standings. However, an early decision to halt 2025 development in favor of focusing fully on the major technical regulation reset backfired heavily, leaving the squad struggling near the back of the pack.
This sharp downturn has resulted in an agonizing campaign. Reflecting on his dramatic slide from fighting for race victories to struggling simply to escape Q2, Sainz admitted the psychological toll is immense. Speaking to media outlets including Motorsport Week at the Mexico City Grand Prix, the Spaniard opened up about the profound irony of driving at his absolute peak while yielding meager results.
“I can only tell you from my position, it is a very frustrating position to be in,” Sainz stated to the media. “To think I was winning here in Mexico a couple of years ago and on Saturday I will be starting P17 on the grid and I am the same driver, if anything, I am a better driver than I was back in 2024.”
“I can only tell you how frustrating it is, it is difficult to accept sometimes, but we all have the discipline that when or at least when the visor goes down, even if I can achieve P16 or P17, I’m not going to put myself in a stupid situation,” he continued.
Enduring a season at the back of the field has also granted the veteran driver a profound new appreciation for the hidden struggles faced by backmarker teams. Experience from both ends of the grid has altered his perception of traffic management and race execution under pressure.
“When I was leading in Mexico and complaining about the blue flags, I’ve now been at both ends of the field. It’s a lot more difficult to deal with than what you see on TV,” he explained. “It’s something that I have learned this year. I would never have liked to have learned this unfortunately, but it is something that I have had to go through this year and I’m definitely not enjoying it, and I am going to try and make sure I’m never in this position again.”
With the team enduring a pointless weekend in Sao Paulo despite tricky weather conditions allowing data gathering, Sainz utilized the race distance to experiment with aggressive set-up directions aimed at unlocking long-term competitiveness from the FW48 chassis.
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