Sainz commits to adapting his driving to the specific characteristics of his Williams
Carlos Sainz continues to take his time adapting to his Williams, promising to change a few aspects of his driving.
The beginnings are complicated for Carlos Sainz with his Williams, which is giving him a lot of trouble. The Spanish driver has committed to changing his driving style, which represents a real challenge, especially since he has been largely outperformed by his new teammate Alex Albon during the first three races. With an average qualifying gap of 0.226 seconds, Albon has qualified for Q3 at each Grand Prix, leaving the Spaniard at the door of Q2.
His Thai teammate scored 18 points in the first three races and is ranked 7th in the championship, while Sainz has only scored one point in China, and only because Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and Pierre Gasly were disqualified. He is ranked 15th.
The biggest problem for Sainz is his lackluster performance in qualifying. The Spanish driver explains that his driving accentuates the car’s weaknesses and that he must modify his driving style to avoid consistently ending up in the middle or lower part of the standings.
« There are still a lot of adjustments to try, and we’ve discovered quite a few weaknesses in the car that we need to try to correct. We are losing a lot of time per lap in specific areas of the track that correspond to my feeling in the car. », he confided to the Racingnews microphone after the Japanese Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz knows it, his car is very efficient on the straight, but he must try at all costs to find the key to unlock its potential. « If we start stringing together better weekends, we’ll succeed. We’ve worked on the setup a little closer to where I wanted it. But I had to adjust some elements of my driving style to make sure not to expose some of the car’s weaknesses that are quite evident when I try to push a bit more in qualifying. »
The Bahrain Grand Prix will be an opportunity for the Spaniard to reconnect with his first sensations during winter testing and adjust to his car. « I can’t wait to get back in the car here in Bahrain. Returning to the same circuit used for pre-season testing will be very interesting, although the conditions will be quite different since it will be much hotter. I’m looking forward to starting strong and having a solid weekend. Let’s go! », he stated.
