Carlos Sainz issues verdict over major Williams F1 decision

Carlos Sainz is adamant Williams has made the "right call" in switching its focus to the looming F1 regulations changes earlier than its midfield rivals.

The James Vowles-led team abandoned the development of its FW47 after only a few rounds this season as the Grove-based squad channels its efforts and resources into its 2026 car.

Having long maintained that the new F1 rules on the horizon will be the point at which Williams wants to return to relative competitiveness, and eyes will be on the nine-time constructors' champions.

The team is seemingly ahead of schedule on its long-term goal to restore itself to its former glory, currently holding onto fifth in the constructors' standings as its recovery from the foot of the F1 standings intensifies.

However, rival teams have closed the points deficit to Williams in recent rounds, and although already on 70 for the year, Aston Martin is now just 18 back.

Despite this threat, Sainz insists he and the team "still trust the process" it has embarked on with the hope it will "pay off" down the line.

"If you do such a big commitment from the team to realise that you’re not going to bring many upgrades to a Formula 1 season, you need to expect that sooner or later you will start falling back - because this is exactly how Formula 1 works," the 30-year-old told media, Including RacingNews365.

"And even the midfield teams - they never sleep. Everyone is bringing, every three or four races, a bit of a package, a bit of an upgrade.

"At Williams, yeah, we brought a couple of things at the beginning of the year with the updates of the front wing regulations. But realistically, we haven’t brought anything up until now. So no secrets - we expected that.

"We still believe it’s the right call, and we still trust the process. We still trust that will pay off next year. We are doing a massive push on next year’s car."

The 'most frustrating part...'

Still in his first season with Williams, Sainz is still finding his feet in the team. Whilst team-mate Alex Albon has secured three fifth-place finishes and scored 54 points, the Spaniard has so far chipped in just 16.

The four-time grand prix winner does not, however, believe those performances will be replicable for either driver over the final 10 rounds of the campaign, such is the extent to which attention has shifted to 2026.

Although he was quick to acknowledge the missed opportunities on his side over the first part of the year.

"I’ve already had a few simulator sessions with it," he explained. "In debriefs, we almost talk more about next year than we talk about this year - even if we are racing this year.

"I guess the most frustrating part is that when we had a very competitive car in races like Miami and Imola - that’s when we had the chance, maybe with both cars, to score top fives.

"I was in the top five all the way through those races until something out of my control happened. And that’s where we’re missing 20, 30 points that could give us that extra bit of space in the championship. But that’s how the year has decided to go.

"Now that we have maybe a less competitive car, we need to get those small points. Maybe we’re not going to fight for P5s, P4s like we did at the time, but we can still get top 10s, top 8s that will help in our championship."