Carlos Sainz has shared his insights into his improved performance in Bahrain and the development trajectory of the Williams FW47 as he heads into the F1 Saudi Arabian GP this weekend.
After making it into Q3 and out qualifying teammate Alex Albon for the first time in Bahrain, the Spaniard is intent on finishing in the top ten for the second time this season as he continues to adjust to the FW47 and unlearn some driving traits he has carried over from Ferrari.
No major scope for development as Williams already focused on 2026
Speaking in a print media session ahead of the F1 Saudi Arabian GP on Thursday, Carlos Sainz admitted that there were positive takeaways from Bahrain despite his collision with Yuki Tsunoda and eventual retirement from the race.
Highlighting the step forward he has taken with regard to maximising the potential of the car over a single lap, the 30-year-old nonetheless added that Williams are keen on resolving an underlying balance issue that is hampering their performance on track.
“Yeah, I had a positive quali. I felt I was, for the first time in the year, close to extracting the maximum amount of the car in a single lap pace.
“Still [there are] things that I want to improve and fine-tune here and there with my driving and the set-up of the car. We are still struggling a bit with an underlying balance issue that we are trying to get rid of with this car.
“We are investigating it and really trying to put all of our brain to see what we can do with set-up and tools that we have at the track.”
In a candid statement, Sainz also emphasised their limited resources this season and revealed how the Grove-based team is already focusing their efforts on next year’s car, with new F1 regulations coming into effect in 2026.
“Because in development I don’t think we will get much of an opportunity to improve it, given we are putting all of our eggs into next year’s basket. So yeah, a lot of work [is] being done in between races to understand this.”
Sainz admits he needs to readjust his approach for the midfield
Reflecting on his race in Bahrain, Carlos Sainz conceded that he should’ve concentrated his efforts into potentially scoring a couple of points instead of engaging in battles he was destined to lose.
The four-time race winner also stated that he needs to adjust his approach as he finds himself back in the midfield. At the same time, he admitted that he had felt comfortable enough to challenge his immediate rivals for the first time in 2025 at Sakhir.
“It’s a good quali, a bit more of a difficult race. Choosing to fight cars that maybe I shouldn’t have chosen to fight. But it’s been a bit of a long time since I was fighting these guys, and I was comfortable enough to fight them.
“Looking back, I would’ve definitely stopped the fight and just focused on getting the points, which in the midfield is a trade-off that I maybe need to remind myself about.
“[In] Suzuka, I was attacking, as I was out of position. And [in] Bahrain, I was defending. I forgot maybe that Bahrain is quite easy to pass in the end. So sooner or later, these cars were going to pass me. If it wasn’t on track, it was with strategy.
“I probably just should’ve, and this is my mistake, focused more on just bringing home the couple of points that were maybe available at the time and remind myself that that’s the target right now. There will be more time to fight the others maybe, on other occasions.”
Williams keen on understanding the FW47 to improve next year’s car
In terms of James Vowles confirming that Williams are already prioritising development for the 2026 season, Carlos Sainz explained ahead of the F1 Saudi Arabian GP how that correlates with the performance gains they intend to make this year. He stated that they are focused on gaining an in-depth understanding of the FW47 with the limited resources they have and applying that knowledge to their future cars.
“It’s a very good point because this is exactly the situation I had in the team, or I see in the team in the last few races.
“I wanted to make sure that even if we’re not going to develop this car much, we are still working as if we were going to develop this car. We’re still working as a group to make sure we understand what are the strengths and weaknesses of this car.
“Because even if we’re not going to have much time in the wind tunnel and CFD to test things and try and change this underlying balance or issue, we are at least doing everything in our power to try and understand where it’s coming from so we can apply it to future cars.
“This is where I’m being very pushy about that even if we’re not going to develop this car, we need to work as if we were going to make sure we understand as many things as possible this year to try to apply things for next year.”
