Carlos Sainz admits Williams is « concerned » about its recent reliability problems
After an encouraging start to the season, Williams has had to deal with several reliability problems in recent races.
Carlos Sainz admitted that Williams is concerned about a series of reliability issues that threaten its status as the best midfield team in Formula 1.
Read also: Carlos Sainz asks Williams to “get a grip” after the fire in his car
Reliability issues
Carlos Sainz’s remarks come after a catastrophic Austrian Grand Prix, where Williams experienced their first double retirement of the season.
The Spaniard was already facing a tough mission at the Red Bull Ring after qualifying 18th due to brake issues and floor damage. But he didn’t even start the race, as his rear brakes caught fire while waiting at the end of the pit lane.
This followed the fact that Carlos Sainz had barely managed to leave the grid, stuck in first gear during the formation lap, forcing race control to interrupt the initial starting procedure.
His teammate Alex Albon also did not see the checkered flag, retiring after only 15 laps due to a separate issue. This is the third consecutive retirement for Alex Albon, following damage in Spain and an engine problem in Canada.
Carlos Sainz seeks answers
Carlos Sainz acknowledged that Williams is still trying to understand what has been going wrong for several races, despite a promising start to the season with the FW47.
« Obviously, there is a certain level of concern within the team, with so many reliability issues, three in a row for Alex, then this brake issue for me, he stated. « The brake issue was due to several factors, but now we know why it happened, and it shouldn’t occur again. »
« The issue with Alex’s car, which has happened several times now, is something we are trying to find a solution for. It’s very strange because it only occurs on race day. »
« You don’t see it in practice or qualifying, so we can’t simulate it correctly, even if we try everything. But we will continue to work on it », he explains.
With only one week between Austria and the British Grand Prix, the Williams engineers had little time to solve these issues before heading to Silverstone.
Even though the team remains cautious in the face of potential new reliability issues, Carlos Sainz emphasized that there is still a lot of encouragement to be drawn from the car’s performance.
Despite the setbacks, Williams holds fifth place in the constructors’ standings, with a 19-point lead over its closest rival, Racing Bulls.
« It has been very intense for the whole factory, for us drivers, and for all the engineers involved. We are doing everything possible to stay on top of these problems », explained the Spaniard.
« But what keeps us calm and motivated is that the speed is there. I am convinced that we could have won the midfield battle in Austria, even starting almost from the back, given our pace. »
« We are really fast at every race, and the car is competitive. We just need to start putting everything together and make fewer mistakes as a team », he concluded.
