"The car is undriveable": Carlos Sainz's blunt verdict about his Williams after his Q1 elimination in the F1 Austrian GP

Williams star Carlos Sainz failed to make it out of the Q1 session at the 2025 Austrian GP, whereas his teammate Alex Albon progressed to the Q2 session. The Spaniard took to the team radio after the first qualifying session and shared his clear opinion on why he wasn't able to progress further.

The two Williams struggled during the three practice sessions as the Red Bull Ring highlighted the weaknesses of the FW47. The cars were nearly 10 kmph slower than the competitors in the straights during the practice session. When Albon was asked about the same, he didn't have a clear answer as to the reason behind the lack of pace.

Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz finished the FP3 session in P14 and P15, respectively. Coming in the Q1 session, the two Williams were the first cars out on the track along with the Aston Martins. The two Williams drivers set banker lap times in the low 1 minute 6 seconds, which was over a second slower than the fastest lap time of Lando Norris in FP3.

F1 Grand Prix of Austria - Final Practice - Source: Getty

The Williams drivers opted for a second set of fresh rubber, and while Alex Albon set a respectable time capable of making the cut for Q2, Carlos Sainz was left wishing for more. The Spaniard made a trip to the pit lane in the final 3 minutes for a dash of fuel and was out again.

However, Carlos Sainz struggled more than even on the final Q1 lap as the Spaniard was seen running on all the corner exits. The car seemed like a handful, with Sainz correcting the steering into the corner entry and on the exit. After he failed to make it out of Q1, the Williams driver came on the team radio and ranted about his FW47 being undrivable and sustaining damage. He said:

“There's damage in the car for sure. The car is undriveable. It's pulling under braking, no load in high speeds. Undrivable!”

Sainz will start the race in P19 while his teammate Albon will start in P12 after failing to make Q3.

Carlos Sainz's struggles in the Williams FW47 in comparison to Alex Albon

While Carlos Sainz was consistently making Q3 appearances last year in the Ferrari, the Q1 exit at the 2025 Austrian GP marked his third consecutive Q1 exit. The Spaniard failed to make Q2 at the Canadian GP and the Spanish GP.

Alex Albon, on the other hand, qualified P11 at the Spanish GP and made it to Q3 at the Canadian GP. However, the Thai driver retired from both races following an issue with the Mercedes power unit.

Alex Albon sits 8th in the Drivers' standings with 42 points to his name, whereas Carlos Sainz sits 13th with only 13 points to his name.