Carlos Sainz hails milestone Williams podium as “best” of his F1 career
Carlos Sainz hails his "best podium" of his F1 career in Baku.
Carlos Sainz says his first podium for Williams “tastes even better” than his maiden top-three appearance in F1.
After securing a stunning P2 on the grid in qualifying, Sainz produced a flawless drive to convert his starting position into his first podium finish for Williams behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell.
Speaking over team radio as he crossed the line in third place, Sainz labelled the result as the best of his career.
"Vamos! Vamos! Best podium in my career. You cannot imagine how this tastes. Thank you so much. This is my first Smooth Operation in Williams!” Sainz stated.
"I cannot describe how happy I am and how good this feels. It tastes even better than my first ever podium,” the Spaniard added in parc ferme.
"We have been fighting hard all year and we proved when we had the speed, we had it all year and everything comes together and we can do some amazing things together.
"We nailed the race, not one mistake and we managed to beat a lot of cars yesterday that we wouldn't have expected to beat.”
It marks Williams’ first podium in a grand prix that went the full distance since 2017 in Baku.
A lesson to keep believing
Sainz has endured a difficult first season with Williams since making the switch from Ferrari and had only scored 16 points prior to his 15-point haul in Baku.
The result lifts Sainz, a four-time grand prix winner, up to 12th in the drivers’ championship.
Williams have also strengthened their grip on fifth place in the constructors’ championship with 101 points.
The British squad are 39 points clear of Aston Martin with seven races remaining.
"I'm extremely proud of everyone at Williams for pushing through a very difficult year," Sainz added.
"We have proven to everyone the massive step we took compared to last year.
"We are on the rise and the right direction. Unfortunately with me we had a lot of bad luck and incidents.
"Now I understand why it all happened because the first podium needed to come like this.
"It's just life. Life sometimes brings you these bad moments to give you a very nice one.
"This tastes much better than any other thing I was expecting.
"It's a life lesson to keep believing and trusting yourself and your team around you because sooner or later it always pays off."
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