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The highly rated Sainz, who made way for Lewis Hamilton’s move to the storied Italian manufacturer, expressed that he was happy with the result of the hard work the unit had put in ahead of the season and that there was room for improvement as…Read More
Williams driver Carlos Sainz of Spain throws his helmet to a teammate during the drivers portrait photo session ahead of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Spanish driver Carlos Sainz, who made the switch to Williams ahead of the 2025 F1 campaign following his stint at Ferrari, chalked up a top-10 finish at the qualification of the season-opening Australin Grand Prix on Saturday, while teammate Alex Albon came in at sixth.
The highly rated Sainz, who made way for Lewis Hamilton’s move to the storied Italian manufacturer, expressed that he was happy with the result of the hard work the unit had put in ahead of the season and that there was room for improvement as the season progresses.
“Very happy, very proud of the whole team, the way we’ve managed to progress through the winter and put together a car that is allowing us to be in Q3 for the first time in many years with both cars. I think it’s great,” Sainz began.
“And it can only get better because I have so much more potential to unlock as soon as I understand how to extract lap time in Q3,” the 30-year-old said.
“I was pretty strong in testing on the weekend, but clearly when it came to Q3, I didn’t know where to find the lap time, and I did a few mistakes, and now I need to build that for me,” he said, reflecting on the weekend.
Sainz opted to sign with former champion Williams instead of Sauber, who are slated to become Audi factory outfit starting in 2026, and opined that the showings at Austin Park felt like vindication.
“Yeah, definitely. It might be how it’s meant to be, and now it’s a matter of working hard because I see a lot of potential in this team,” the Spaniard said.
Albon recollected the crash he was involved in at Melbourne last season and voiced that he feels marked improvements in the car this year.
“We were fighting for points in previous years but this year it feels like we should be able to score points in every race,” Albon remarked.
“It will be a dogfight between RB, Alpine. I think every weekend is going to be split by a tenth of a second, and that’s it. It’s motivating for all of us,” he added.
Noting rain forecast for Sunday, Albon was bracing for tricky conditions, particularly for the six racers at Albert Park starting a season for the first time.
The Sun was out on Saturday’s qualification and the preceding free practice on Friday; however, weather channels forecast rain on the day of the main race, and Albon touched upon the fact that the drivers hadn’t used their intermediate tyres yet, which could prove to be challenging on Sunday.
“No-one’s driven on the inters or the wets. Good luck to the rookies,” he said.
“Let’s see, anything can happen. I’m hoping for a fairly safe race but there is going to be carnage for sure,” he added.