Carlos Sainz concedes to 'delayed' timeline as major decision looms

Carlos Sainz has stated that his timeline to get back to winning ways in F1 has been “delayed” by Williams' slip in the pecking order.

Williams targeted the 2026 regulation reset as an opportunity to escape the midfield fight and get itself in the fight towards the front of the pecking order.

However, it faced various setbacks at the start of the year and has been chasing car performance all season, leaving it down on its 2025 position.

It marks a disappointing situation for Sainz, who pinned his hopes on a rapid ascension back to the front of the grid after leaving Ferrari.

“I think there’s no secret that my expectations, or let’s say my timeline for how long it would take me to win a race again and for Williams to be the place to do that, have been delayed by a year or two,” Sainz told media including RacingNews365.

“It depends on how quickly we manage to bounce back from this situation. 

“Obviously, I had in my mind a timeframe that I was willing to accept in order to help this team get back into a winning position, and how long I was willing to wait to be fighting for wins again. 

“Clearly, that timeline, unfortunately for all of us, because obviously the team is also affected by it, is going to be longer than we expected, and that path is going to be longer than expected.”

Sainz has not yet confirmed if he will remain with Williams for the 2027 campaign, stating he is using the summer break to mull over his options and come to a decision.

However, the Spaniard insisted he still has confidence in the future of the Williams project.

“Having said that, I see what the team is investing in the future,” he said.

“I still see the vision of the team being pretty clear. I see how much is going on behind the scenes when you leave the current car performance aside, and this still gives me confidence and motivation that we’re going in the right direction. 

“It’s just that this year’s car, for whatever reason or reasons, has been very underperforming and has fallen very short of our expectations for many different reasons that I’m not going to talk about again here today. 

“Clearly, my timings have changed. I need to readapt my thinking into portraying myself now in three to four years’ time and take a decision, but I’m still confident in the path and the project that we are in.”