– Williams is back in the midfield: The British traditional racing team, which struggled with massive difficulties in the first three races of the season, celebrated a double points finish at the Miami Grand Prix. The updates on the FW48 have shown their effect, says Carlos Sainz with satisfaction.
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“We finally brought the upgrade to the car that was actually planned for the first race,” says the Spaniard. “Because of all the delays we had at the start of the season, we finally have the car on the grid that should have actually been the package for the first race.”
“Now it is on the car and performs at least at the level of the midfield cars.” The focus was mainly on getting rid of the excess weight with which the FW48 started the new Formula 1 season, after delays in building the vehicle had slowed down preparation for the new season.
Apparently, the team was successful with this: Carlos Sainz collected two points as ninth, while teammate Alexander Albon was able to score his first point of the season with tenth place. “We know that we still have a lot of weight to shed,” emphasizes Sainz.
A good result, but: “Not where we want to be”
“Considering that, it is positive. I think the team has done a great job in recent weeks to make this possible,” the Williams driver shows gratitude. “It shows: If you tackle things properly, the results get a bit better.”
“This weekend we were clearly the sixth fastest team. But Alpine is about 20 seconds ahead of us, without a safety car it would have been 25 to 30 seconds. There is still a big gap to Alpine, and to the frontrunners, I can’t even tell you [how big it is].”
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Photo gallery: Miami: The driver ratings from Marc Surer and the editorial team
However, the joy over the solid Miami result remains subdued. “We have to keep our heads down, take this as a new base and start improving,” demands Sainz. “This is not where we want to be. I expect everyone at home to know that we are not there yet.”
The double points finish could still be a boost of motivation for Williams. “Even if it feels like a small relief for everyone: Getting two cars into the points on their own is definitely a good step. But we have to keep pushing because it is still not what we expected for 2026 at the end of last year.”
Sainz hopes for “the beginning of an upswing” for Williams
“Hopefully this is the beginning of an upswing and by the end of the year we are where we want to be,” the Williams driver looks to the future. However, the Spaniard does not expect his team to have fully solved the current problems before the end of the European season in mid-September.
“It will take a few months until the turnaround is complete,” says Sainz. “I think we will have to reach the last third of the season to see a real turnaround. But at least the upgrade worked. The weight of the car was reduced a bit, but we know we still have a way to go.”
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“For the next few races we still have some small parts in the pipeline. We take the positive with us and make sure we continue to focus on the negative points to solve them.” Looking at the constructors’ championship, Williams was at least able to distance itself from Audi through the three Miami points.
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