The first race for Carlos Sainz Williams Racing was over before it truly began as the Spanish driver suffered a crash in the opening lap of Sunday’s F1 Australian GP.
Fortunately, the data from the FW47 has enabled Sainz to reveal “”We could clearly spot what happened” On a damp track, Sainz found himself in the wall having had an issue after he upshifted when approaching the final corner of the opening lap of Sunday’s season opener in Melbourne.
First lap DNF
Williams Racing have a powerful car for the 2025 season. Carlos Sainz started Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix from 10th position on the grid. Meanwhile, with teammate Alex Albon P6 it was clear that expectation was high. Such a standing shows the pace inside William’s package for 2025. Unfortunately, for Sainz he would find himself explaining to media his first lap DNF. One clear positive being that the driver is able to move on and can be “a bit more calm” now.
“I’ve had a chance to look at the data and we could clearly spot what happened. That leaves me a bit more calm about the whole situation. Because obviously I wasn’t even going on throttle at the exit of the Safety Car – in a Safety Car situation – and I know I have enough experience for these kind of things. But it’s what it is.”
A very bonded team
Sainz was no doubt facing a mindset of what could have been. However, his presence outside of the car assisted in Albon’s impressive finishing position. An assistance which saw Albon say that Williams was ‘a very bonded team’ and ‘it was great to have Carlos helping on the pit wall too.’
Sainz could also see these positives from his DNF. Nevertheless, he is ready to start his season properly at round 2 of the 24 race season when F1 heads to Shanghai.
“We haven’t got our season started yet. We will need to wait one more race to properly kick it off. At the same time if being out of the car has helped Alex bring this P4 [P5 after Mercedes’ successful appeal] given that I could sit down with the strategy team and pick the perfect lap to pit him. It’s still a good result, a good outcome for the team, and we can now focus on getting my season started in China.”
Williams were able to identify the issue of first lap DNF
Having revealed Williams were able to identify the issue, the 30-year-old went into greater detail. Although, being careful to not give many secrets away was also on his mind.
“It’s more than a surge, it was post half-shift. I had a big torque kick from a poor half-shift and I don’t want to go into the technical details because that’s for us to then analyse and improve. But yes, it’s something related to that and now we will learn from it and try to put together a better situation.”
This was obviously not the first race for Williams Racing that Sainz had expected. He unsurprisingly called it a ‘horrible situation’.
“That’s the last thing you want. To spin or crash behind a Safety Car when you’re not even pushing. It’s really bad but at the same time, as I said, it could have helped to join the strategy team to get the right call, perfect with Alex for the inter-tyres and we can bring this P4 home.” At this point, Sainz was made aware of the final placing and replied “P5 is still a good result and we can bring this home.”
A huge learning curve on Williams F1 debut at Australian GP says Sainz
Melbourne was the first competitive time that Williams’ newest signing could see first-hand what the car can do in an actual race. Obviously, the length of the race was far from what had been expected. Sainz called the weekend a ‘huge learning curve’. Even so, the Spaniard went on to say how it was unfortunately not as big as it could have been because he hadn’t done the race that that he wished he could have.
Not only this but the Spanish fan favourite also explained that qualifying in Melbourne had posed him questions to answer. With China being a sprint weekend format, this means less time for drivers to get to grips with the car.
The Williams racer said that he was really lost in how to find lap time with the soft tyre and how to bring the tyre in. As well as this, he still needs to know what to expect for every switch change and what to expect when ‘going up in the front wing’.
More performance to be unlocked
Sainz by his own admission was “really quick all weekend and really quick in testing” which leaves him happy that he is adapting well. Nevertheless, he knows there is more performance to be unlocked.
“It’s just the small details when nailing a qualifying lap that I will have to keep improving. Going even through the experiences of today also is part of the learning process. And now I will, I think, I’ll make steps forward very quickly in the first quarter, first third of the year.”
Sainz concluded his post-race comments saying that China is the only thing he is thinking about now. A sold-out race crowd will be eager to see how the former Ferrari man bounces back. One thing is clear – Williams have a strong package. Now, Sainz is surely desperate to show what he can get from it – over more than a single lap.
