“Where can Williams get to?”: Carlos Sainz talks about his F1 ambitions in new team post Ferrari

Carlos Sainz has shared his thoughts on his ambitions with Williams, a new team for him coming into 2025. Speaking about his expectations, the Spanish driver said that he expected the team to be a solid midfield car, something James Vowles and company have managed to pull off.

Sainz joined Williams this season to race alongside Alex Albon, as the Spanish driver had to leave Ferrari to make way for Lewis Hamilton. Williams is the fifth F1 team of his career, following stints with Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren, and Ferrari.

Carlos Sainz, who joined the British team with formidable hopes, could see them turn positive after 14 races and three Sprints with Williams sitting strong in P5 in the Constructors' Championship.

Speaking about how the Grove-based team managed to live up to his expectations, here's what the Spaniard said to Racer:

"My hopes were that Williams would be a solid midfield car in '25 that allowed me to fight for points and not be at the back end of the grid. Just somewhere around the top 10 that I could still have fun playing around for points – which might sound stupid, but it's still better and it's a lot more something to go for than fighting for P16, P17, where 24 races like that can get frustrating for a driver."

"And then the other hopes were still TBC, which is '26, '27, '28. Where can Williams get to? And my feeling and my hope is that we can be championship contenders in the late part of the years that I just mentioned. Part of it we know and it's been more than achieved, which is we are a very solid midfield car. The rest is the TBC of the hopes."

Williams is currently in P5 with 70 points, 18 points ahead of Aston Martin, the team in P6. However, Williams remains 124 points behind Red Bull (P4), as the gap between the top four teams and the rest of the pack remains big.

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How is Carlos Sainz performing in 2025?

Even though Williams stands strong in P5 in the Constructors' Championship, Carlos Sainz has not been able to live up to the expectations so far. Teammate Alexander Albon has comfortably outperformed him.

Carlos Sainz of Williams ahead of the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix at Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary - Source: Getty

Keeping aside the fact that Sainz had to drive a new car, which was more suited to fit Albon, and something that comes with a Mercedes engine, the Spanish driver struggled to cope. After 14 races and three Sprints, the former Ferrari man is in P16 with 16 points.

Compared to the Spaniard, Alex Albon is in P8 with 54 points, a difference of 38 points. Sainz's best results have come in Saudi Arabia and Italy, where he finished in P8. At the same time, he has faced two DNFs.