Carlos Sainz is advocating for a fundamental shift in Williams’ design philosophy. After a disappointing race weekend in Hungary, the Spaniard, who made his debut with the British racing team this season, stated that his FW47 is plagued with severe shortcomings. He believes that something needs to change if he wants to be competitive next year when new technical regulations are introduced.
While he doesn’t directly criticize Williams, Sainz is realistic about the current situation. “We need a change in design philosophy to ensure that next year’s car performs well on different circuits,” he told Spanish publication AS. “Hungary has always been a difficult circuit for Williams, but the problems we encounter here are also seen on other tracks.” Sainz finished fourteenth in Budapest.
The 30-year-old driver pointed out the weak performance in long turns – a persistent problem that has been taking its toll for some time. “We have worse aerodynamic properties in long turns, where you need to maintain downforce from the beginning to the middle of the turn. That’s hurting us,” Sainz said. “That’s why short turns and straights suit us better. On circuits like Barcelona, Hungary, or Qatar, the car struggles.”
Providing Feedback
After a difficult qualification, the Spaniard took ample time to discuss with the team. “I’ve gone from a team that was on pole position to a team that’s thirteenth,” Sainz compared his current team to Ferrari. “I can give a lot of feedback about what this car lacks on a circuit.”
Although Williams has largely focused on 2026 this season, Sainz remains involved and combative. In Budapest, he tested multiple setups to find speed. “I tried three or four different setups and eventually went back to the setup with which I ran competitive qualifying runs in Miami and Imola,” he explained. “If we had had trouble-free weekends in Spa, Miami, or Imola, we would have scored a lot of points,” he concluded optimistically.
