Carlos Sainz had a very promising start to the preseason, setting the best times in Bahrain and giving a very good impression of how he had adapted to the car. However, the results did not come, in both races he was beaten by Albon. Thanks to the disqualification in China of the Ferraris and Pierre Gasly, he managed to reach tenth place and score his first point of the season.
Carlos Sainz’s adaptation to Williams
There are many questions marks surrounding the level shown by Carlos Sainz in the race. The poor performance is mainly attributed to the change of team and the lack of mileage to be able to complete an optimal adaptation. This is what the experts say and this is what the driver himself says. He admitted to changes in the set-up and, at the same time, acknowledged that he did not know why he was not adapting to the car.
“It was a different car, yes, but in principle everything should be the same. We’ll see what it can be and this is a moment when we will look for something, we will find it, and for my part we are going to continue working”.
“No, that’s why, on the other hand I’m happy with the setup changes we proposed, both Alex and I yesterday, it seems they have gone in the right direction and the car has responded as we expected, especially on his part. For my part yes, I have had a lot of problems.
“It’s hard to understand why. Right now I need a few days to analyze it and sit down calmly to see the bottom line, and yes, I am a little surprised, because if there is one thing I felt in the Abu Dhabi and Bahrain tests, it’s that I was very fast and it took me very little time to adapt to the car.”
Is Williams driving the current FW47?
But his lack of adaptation might not be the only thing holding the Madrid-born driver back from improving his performance. According to Carlos Miquel, a journalist specialising in Formula 1, Carlos Sainz could be driving an FW47 rebuilt with the chassis of last year’s car, while his teammate, Alexander Albon, would be driving with this year’s chassis. This could be due to a lack of budget in the legendary British team.
If this were to be confirmed, it would explain many things, such as Carlos Sainz’s drop in performance, the fact that he is always behind his team-mate, and that, from the team, the defense towards Carlos Sainz is total and has no buts.
Whether or not this information is true, Williams and Carlos Sainz’s entourage have not said anything about it, and the problems of adaptation are still the argument that comes from both sides to explain Carlos Sainz’s performance in the Williams car. And if it were to be confirmed, he would have the new chassis at his disposal for the following races, where we could see a substantial change in his results.
In any case, Carlos Sainz must step up as soon as possible. It is true that a change of team requires adaptation, but he has several examples to look at, such as the fifth place obtained by Ocon with Haas, the first victory of Hamilton, in the sprint, with Ferrari, or the great performance of Antonelli with Mercedes.