‘A perfect storm’ - Carlos Sainz concedes Williams ‘got principles wrong’ with 2026 F1 car
Williams has endured a tough first half of the Formula 1 season.
Carlos Sainz has described Williams' 2026 struggles as "the perfect storm", with the season having become increasingly difficult for the former championship-winning team.
Williams is without a point in the last six weekends since the Monaco Grand Prix, and with Aston Martin's recent upgrades, has fallen even further down the pecking order.
Throughout an unexpectedly strong 2026 campaign, which saw Sainz pick up a pair of podium finishes, team principal James Vowles had consistently pointed to 2026 as the year the team would vault up the order. Instead, the team was the only outfit to miss the pre-season shakedown, delivered its planned 'race one' package at the fourth round in Miami, and has suffered with an overweight and underdeveloped car ever since.
Having signed a new multi-year contract ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, the Spaniard faced repeat questions on why he had elected to remain with a team that is so clearly struggling.
"I believe in the project," he said. "I said that from the beginning.
"This was a massive blow to my expectations, especially after how well we did last year. I think last year didn't help the fact that it also exceeded my expectations, and probably lifted my expectations for this year, and the reality is that this year has turned out to be the most like the perfect storm of all the problems possible.
"We've come up with a car that is late, a car that is overweight, and a car without downforce, which, in Formula 1 terms, is everything that you want to achieve in a car.
"We got the principles wrong, and as a team, I want to make sure that it doesn't happen again. But at the same time, I'm not going to leave a project that I believe in. The driver is a fundamental part of showing commitment to all the workers, all the 1,000 people behind the scenes. I didn't want to leave anyone hanging and commit to the project."
Sainz has a habit of leaving teams in a stronger position than they were in when he joined.
Referencing his Williams situation, Sainz quipped: "Then I should have left last year after the podium! Take the podium in Qatar and say, "Bye!" No, I'm joking."
Sam joined Crash.net in February 2026 with extensive experience in motorsport media, having covered numerous championships around the world.
