Carlos Sainz delivered a strong performance at the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, securing Williams’ second podium finish of the season, following his previous podium in Azerbaijan. Team Principal James Vowles expressed immense pride in both the team and Sainz for the outstanding result.
In Qatar, Sainz clinched third place, earning Williams a podium finish. Team Principal James Vowles was clearly delighted and also emphasized the team’s significant progress compared to last year: “Last year, our car performed poorly here, we didn’t even make it past Q1. But the engineering team, the tyre team, and the aerodynamics department have turned everything around and squeezed every millisecond out of the car. This podium is not a fluke, it’s the result of hard work. It’s a well-deserved podium.”
However, not everything went smoothly. Vowles was concerned that Sainz had pushed too early: “We had to rein him in a bit, as I was worried he would start too hard. But Carlos knows exactly how to perform at the highest level and he had full control of the race. We had a minor issue with the right front tyre: we lost 4 to 5 degrees of tyre temperature and some downforce in the right-hand turns. Carlos noticed this and reported it over the radio, but it didn’t bother him. It got a bit tense towards the end, but P3 is P3.”
