Carlos Sainz reveals 'next target' after unexpected Williams breakthrough

Carlos Sainz has highlighted his “next target” at Williams is to return to winning ways after a positive first campaign at the team.

Sainz joined the Grove-based squad at the start of the 2025 after his exit from Ferrari, where he was replaced by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

After a slow start to the season, Sainz slowly found his footing inside the team and walked away from the year with two podium finishes in hand.

Sainz, who had various options open to him after his Ferrari exit was announced, believes his successes during the season have proven doubters wrong when it came to assessing the potential of the move.

“My season, it's a season to be proud of,” Sainz told media including RacingNews365. 

“I think many people, when I left for Williams at the end of last year, doubted the move.

“There were doubts surrounding my future and the way I was going. 

“After this year, it's very clear to everyone that I came to a project that is hungry to get back to winning ways.”

Sainz ended the races from Azerbaijan and Qatar in third place to add to his trophy cabinet and also finished the Austin sprint race in third.

Having already tasted podium success with Williams, Sainz has shifted his next target to bringing the team back to the top step of the podium.

“I've got back to podium ways earlier than expected, earlier than what people - even myself - expected,” he said.

“Now the next target is to go back to winning ways. I'm in the right place at the right time to do that. 

“The only thing I do is [urge] the team to keep pushing, keep keeping it all, because I see the potential. 

“But in this sport, progress one year doesn't mean progress the next year. 

“So you need to keep being hungry, keep being disciplined, and keep pushing harder than ever to make sure that next year we can do another step.”