Carlos Sainz has described the 2025 Formula 1 campaign with Williams as one of the hardest stretches of his career, following a number of difficult race weekends. Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay, the Spaniard shared his thoughts on the struggles he has encountered while driving the FW47 this season.
Despite facing setbacks, Sainz acknowledged that his strong performance and points finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix offered a much-needed boost in confidence during a tough year for the Grove-based team.
Williams Car Performance Varies by Track Characteristics
Looking ahead to the Singapore race, Sainz expressed reservations about how well the Williams FW47 would adapt to the high-downforce requirements of the street circuit. He noted a clear pattern from this season, revealing that the car has proven more competitive on tracks demanding lower downforce.
I think realistically speaking, whenever we put a higher downforce wing on our car, we seem to be a bit less competitive,
said Carlos Sainz.
I think if you see all of our great results have come with low downforce rear wings, low downforce tracks that our car tends to respond better to. That doesn’t mean that here I will not try and perform and deliver a weekend like I did in Baku.
This self-awareness underscored his determination to approach each race positively, despite acknowledging the technical limitations of the car on specific circuits.
Baku Success Reignites Motivation and Confidence
Recalling the Azerbaijan Grand Prix result, Sainz credited that weekend with restoring his motivation amid ongoing challenges. He described the points finish there as both a relief and validation that raw speed was not the issue for him this year.
I think that has to be my intention from here to the end of the year. Baku certainly was a big boost in motivation and even I would say a relief because it just confirmed the narrative that I was saying the whole year that speed is not a problem and that I just need to put together weekends and hopefully that serves as an example and I can follow that example until the end of the year.
The Psychological Strain of Consecutive Setbacks
Sainz further opened up about the mental toll exacted by repeated poor results, which often stemmed from factors beyond his control. He described the period after the summer break as particularly difficult, as initial promise was met by consecutive disappointments.
It was certainly very tough. Probably one of the toughest psychologically moments of my career in terms of how much setbacks I had to deal with through the season,
said Sainz.
For me, it was particularly tough after the summer break because I came back from the summer break full of energy, full of motivation, just refreshed with a bit of a new mindset, new approach.
He pointed out that despite strong qualifying performances and competitive race positioning in both Baku and Monza after the break, a recurring pattern of bad luck and unrewarded opportunities persisted, which tested his resilience.
I did two strong qualis in Baku and Monza. I was running still in good positions both in Baku and Monza and in both times consecutively. The same pattern that in the first half of the season happened.
So I was like, OK, I’ve changed my approach, I am full of energy and now two consecutive setbacks to bring me down again. So it was certainly not easy at all and very frustrating. I think you were starting to see it also in me how frustrating I was starting to get.
But I kept the foot down and in the end the result paid off and I think in that sense just happy and proud of resilience because to come back from the summer break with refreshed energy and get two big punches in the stomach and have to do it all over again was tough.
Looking Forward to Closing the Season Strong
Since signing with Williams for 2025, Sainz has remained focused on building momentum from his Baku performance as he aims to finish the season positively. Despite the clear challenges with the Williams car’s characteristics impacting competitiveness on certain circuits, he maintains a steady, determined mindset.
His openness about the physical and psychological trials throughout the year highlights the intensity of competing in Formula 1 and the perseverance required when results do not come easily. The remainder of the 2025 season will test whether Sainz can continue to translate his speed into consistent results for the Williams team.
