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Former F1 world champion Damon Hill reacted to Carlos Sainz securing a podium at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as he reshared a video of the Williams team celebrating after the race. The Spanish driver claimed his first podium with his new team to mark his and the British team's best finish of the 2025 season.
Carlos Sainz made history in Baku on Sunday as he claimed Williams' first F1 podium in nearly four years. After the race, the Spaniard ranked the moment as his best career achievement, and his first "smooth operation" at the Grove-based team.
Former F1 world champion with Williams, Damon Hill, reacted to Sainz and the team's incredible achievement, as he reshared a video of them celebrating the podium via his Instagram story on Sunday after the race.
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![Screen grab from Damon Hill's Instagram story [via Instagram/@96f1champ]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/09/2f7fa-17585424251894-1920.jpg)
Carlos Sainz had qualified second in a rain-affected Azerbaijan GP qualifying, with only Max Verstappen able to put in a better time than him on Saturday. In the race, Sainz held on to the second spot but was undercut by George Russell, who snatched P2 from him.
But Sainz never looked in doubt as he settled into P3 on his final tyre stint during the race. The 31-year-old also managed to comfortably see off any challenges from Kimi Antonelli behind him, who couldn't do enough to join his teammate on the podium.
This result has come after numerous unlucky breaks for Sainz in 2025, as he has been unable to convert performances into points on multiple occasions this year. His P3 in Baku has catapulted him to 12th in the drivers' standings, and also helped Williams further solidify their grip on P5 in the constructors' table.
"We can do some amazing things together": Carlos Sainz praises the Williams team after P3 finish at the Azerbaijan GP
Carlos Sainz was full of praise for his Williams team after claiming third position at the Azerbaijan GP on Sunday. The former Ferrari driver also said that he outperformed his own expectations for the race by finishing on the podium.
Speaking after the race, Sainz claimed that he and the team showcased the pace that they have had all throughout the 2025 season.
"We’ve been fighting hard all year and, finally today, we just proved that when we have the speed. We’ve had it all year, and when everything comes together, we can do some amazing things together," said Sainz. [via Formula1.com]
"We nailed the race. Not one mistake, and we managed to beat a lot of cars that, yesterday, I wasn’t expecting to beat," he added.
This was Sainz's first points finish in a conventional race since the Canadian GP in July. While he has not been as consistent as teammate Alex Albon this year, Sainz has still managed to secure seven top-10 race finishes, including Baku, in 2025. The driver sits 39 points behind his Thai teammate in the drivers' standings after 17 rounds.
