Carlos Sainz has not shied away from the harsh reality facing Williams in the 2026 Formula 1 season. Ahead of the Spanish GP, the Madrid native openly admitted that his team is now "putting all the eggs in next year's basket." The comment comes after a string of disappointing results that have left Williams ninth in the constructors' standings with just 11 points.
Since Monaco, Sainz and teammate Alex Albon have failed to add to their points tally, and the performance of the latest FW48 has fallen short of expectations. Pressure is mounting ahead of the European swing. However, a glimmer of hope arrives in the form of an upgraded chassis set to debut at the next race in Azerbaijan. Sainz hopes the update will bring the team closer to the points, though he acknowledges it is not a long-term fix.
"Yes, I think that upgrade is going to definitely help us to get ourselves closer to potentially fighting for some points. But realistically speaking, that's nowhere near where we wanted to be this year, nowhere near what we promised," Sainz said in the FIA Press Conference on Thursday. "So, it's still not enough and it's still not where we want to be. So, it's an upgrade that will help a bit the motivation of the team and just to look into the weekend with something to look forward to, maybe to potentially get a point or two when we were like we were at the beginning of the year. But it's nowhere near where we want to be and I think our biggest hope is putting all the eggs in next year's basket."
Sainz's decision to sign a multi-year contract extension with Williams earlier this year raised eyebrows, but the former Ferrari driver insists he still believes in the project. "Yeah, obviously if I signed that contract, it's because I still believe in the team. I still believe that this is just a bump on the road, on where we are and the capability that this team has to turn it around," he affirmed.
Furthermore, Sainz highlighted the importance of learning from a turbulent 2026 campaign. He believes many fundamental aspects that were previously taken for granted turned out to be flawed, providing valuable lessons. "I think, honestly, what we've learned this year is so many lessons and so many things that we got wrong, or that we believed we were at a certain standard and we are clearly not, that I think this bump that we just hit is going to help the team massively to change fundamental things that we were doing wrong, to become a better team in the future," he added.
Amid the struggles, Sainz stressed the need for a swift recovery. He wants to ensure that 2026 is merely a temporary setback rather than the start of a prolonged decline. "Having said that, I think it's extremely important that we bounce back next year already and that we show a promising sign of bounce-back next year because I think it's very important to make sure this is just a small bump on the road rather than a prolonged time in the year. And also, I think we've taken a lot of conclusions, a lot of things that we have to change as a team, and this is going to help us to become a better team in the future," he concluded.
With the new chassis set to be tested in Baku, Williams hope to halt the negative momentum and at least scavenge some points before fully shifting focus to 2026 development. However, uncertainty still looms over the Grove garage. Will this upgrade be a turning point, or merely confirm that this season must be sacrificed for the future?
Baca Juga
Theophile Nael memenangi Sprint Race F3 Madrid 2026. Ugo Ugochukwu finis ke-8 dan memangkas jarak dari Freddie Slater menjadi 12 poin.
Carlos Sainz ungkap Williams taruh semua harapan di musim 2026 setelah hasil buruk di F1 2026. Upgrade sasis akan hadir di Azerbaijan, tapi ekspektasi tetap rendah.
Theophile Nael dominan menangi Sprint Race F3 Spanyol 2026 di Madring. Debut gemilang, sementara Slater dan Ugochukwu berjuang dari belakang.
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