This weekend Formula 1 Carlos Sainz is ready to give his best performance with Williams. After two disappointing races for the Madrid-born driver, he is now looking to find the key to completing his first great race with the English team.
Two weeks to continue learning
After two races with the FW-47, Carlos Sainz is now ready to prove his worth in the Japanese F1 Grand Prix. The bad start to the season, far from discouraging the driver, has led him to take it as a lesson with his new car, and although he is still lacking in experience, his preparation is beginning to approach what is expected of him.
The season did not start as expected, far from it, especially after the impressions he left us with after the tests in Bahrain, where he surprised the world of F1 by setting the fastest time and showing an adaptation that no one could have predicted in such a short time. However, the first races showed a reality that everyone had ruled out given the great start in the tests.
First there was the retirement in the GP of Australia, when he was behind the Safety Car, having completed only one lap of the World Championship, a failure resulting from his lack of knowledge of some of the car’s mechanisms, which he could not have known about, as it was being raced in wet conditions, but which is still a failure on the part of the driver.
He was able to complete the second race in its entirety, but he was out of rhythm, well behind his team-mate, Alexander Albon, and the good performance that the Williams seems to be having this season. However, it was enough for him to gain experience and accumulate mileage, to continue learning how his car works. The disqualifications of Ferrari and Gasly promoted him to tenth place and he scored his first point, perhaps the most positive thing of all given what happened in the race, but it feels like a lot given the difficulties he is having.
He has now had two weeks to rest, to assimilate what he has learned, to understand how the car works, and to continue working towards the Japanese Grand Prix.
Maximum confidence in the Williams team
James Vowles was the first to defend Carlos Sainz. Although he is aware that it has not been the expected start, he has valued the involvement of the driver in the team, his knowledge and his experience, which are key to the improvement of the team. Sir Frank himself recognises that Williams cannot offer Sainz what he had at Ferrari, and that change does not help Carlos to adapt, so they must continue working to give him the best tools so that he is able to get the most out of the car and return to his best version, the one he showed last year with Ferrari.
Carlos Sainz and the Japanese Grand Prix
For his part, Carlos Sainz faces this new race with full confidence, confidence that his team gives him and that his own experience gives him. He was aware that the first races would be complicated, and that they will continue to be so, but it is time to be able to show his quality at the hands of the FW-47. Carlos Sainz’s main objective for this race is to perform well enough to finish in the points and to take advantage of any mistakes that may occur ahead of the race. Albo has managed to finish races with solvency and his objective is to be able to show at least the same performance as his teammate.
What leaves no room for doubt is that Carlo Sainz has room for improvement, and that it is logical that every day we see him better at the wheel of his new car. Carlo Sainz has always struggled with change, but when he has adapted, he has demonstrated the quality that makes him one of the best drivers on the grid.