Carlos Sainz Optimistic About Championship Prospects with Williams: ‘I Can Win an F1 Title Here’

Carlos Sainz Affirms Belief in Williams’ Formula 1 Revival: Aiming for World Championship Glory

Carlos Sainz has made a bold declaration about his debut season with Williams, confidently asserting his ability to win a Formula 1 world championship with the historic British team. Despite enduring a challenging start to life at Grove, the ambitious Spaniard remains committed to the team’s long-term strategy in the highly-competitive F1 grid.

Sainz’s move to Williams arose after a surprising twist—Ferrari replaced him with seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, forcing the four-time race winner to seek a new challenge. Since arriving at Williams, Sainz has faced hurdles including inconsistency, strategic missteps, and bad luck, resulting in only 16 championship points across the first 15 races of the season.

Yet, the 31-year-old remains steadfast about his decision to join Williams. Speaking with PA News, he was clear in his vision: “Yes.”

“If there’s one thing I’ve taken over from Ferrari and my other experiences, it is that I know that with the right people around me, I can develop a competitive car and team,” Sainz said. “I get a lot of confidence from that, from knowing that I know how to guide a big organization to go in the right direction—what the car needs to perform, what is the right structure for a team—and I’m keen to help Williams on that.

“I see everything back at base, back at the factory responding, and everything is going the way I want it to go. It’s a matter of whether we can deliver it or not, obviously, but I feel like it’s still the right place for me for the future.”

Williams F1: A Season of Development and Learning

The Dutch Grand Prix highlighted the ups and downs of Sainz’s 2023 campaign. After qualifying a solid P9 for Sunday’s race, his ambitions were derailed after a collision with Liam Lawson—an incident that led to a penalty and left the frustrated Spaniard finishing in P13. Meanwhile, teammate Alex Albon impressed with a P5 finish, boosting his points tally to 64 points for the season.

Reflecting on his season relative to Albon, Sainz remarked: “From my side, if I use Alex as a reference, I feel like the speed has been there from the beginning. We’ve been very closely matched in outright speed, which is normally the thing you struggle the most with when changing teams. So I’m relatively happy and proud of that adaptation process.

“But, unfortunately, we didn’t manage to get points on the table, or as many points as we should have, for the speed that I have in the car.”

Long-Term Williams Revival: 2028 F1 Ambitions

Under the leadership of James Vowles, the Williams F1 team is executing a deliberate, data-driven plan to return to the front of the grid. The British outfit has outlined a vision focused on exploiting the new Formula 1 regulations, which will be introduced in 2024, though they admit many elements will take years to fully develop—with an eye toward 2028 championship competitiveness.

Sainz understands the importance of patience during this developmental phase. Having adjusted from his time at Ferrari, where a podium or win was a regular expectation, the seasoned driver admits to missing the adrenaline rush of fighting at the front.

“That’s the one thing I miss,” Sainz said. “The pressure and the excitement of going into a weekend knowing you’re fighting for a podium or a win—that’s the only thing really I miss from the past. That adrenaline, that feeling you get in the body when you know you’re going into a weekend where you might have a chance to win or to step on the podium.

“But apart from that, honestly, the competitive side of me goes into every weekend so fired up that it doesn’t need any other adjustments. I feel like the more we work this year and the better we work this year, the earlier that feeling of winning and some podiums will come back.”

Formula 1 Faith: Carlos Sainz Sees a Bright Future

Although the results aren’t immediately forthcoming, Carlos Sainz is determined to help Williams on its journey back into Formula 1 title contention. With his experience, technical insight, and confidence in the team’s abilities, the Spaniard views himself as an integral part of the rebuilding effort.

“I know that with the right people around me, we can achieve great things,” Sainz reiterated. For the time being, the focus remains on executing Williams’ long-term project, with the hope that a patient, step-by-step approach will bring both Sainz and the team back to the front of the Formula 1 grid—and ultimately lead the Spaniard to his dream of a Formula 1 world championship title.

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