Carlos Sainz experienced a challenging second practice session before the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, yet kept a positive outlook on Friday. Despite placing 16th in the timesheets, Sainz described the Williams car’s performance as promising, showing hope for progress during the race weekend.
Challenges Faced During Practice Sessions
Sainz encountered difficulties completing clean hot laps, often interrupted by Virtual Safety Car (VSC) periods and various track flags.
“Every time I was on a hot lap and every time was a purple sector one actually, I got a VSC or a yellow flag or a red flag,”
he explained after Friday’s sessions.
“So, we couldn’t close a lap on the soft, but up until that yellow or red that was coming out, the pace was promising.”
The Spaniard finished 1.792 seconds behind the fastest driver, Lando Norris. His teammate Alex Albon also had an eventful day, managing a light crash and ending stranded at Turn 1 during the second session, despite a strong fifth-place finish in the first practice run.
Encouraging Improvements Between Sessions
Comparing the two practice sessions, Sainz felt more comfortable with the car’s behavior in the second outing.
“We did a good step from P1 to P2 and I felt at home with the car,”
he said.
“So, a relatively positive start to the weekend. I know the timesheets don’t show it because we are obviously on the back end of the timesheets. But when you look at the detail, we are actually not bad, which I don’t really understand why because the track shouldn’t really suit us.”
Historically, Williams has struggled on high downforce circuits like Zandvoort, making this promising pace especially notable.
Optimistic but Realistic Expectations for Qualifying and Race
Sainz remains cautiously hopeful about the weekend outcomes, recognizing the difficulty of achieving top qualifying times.
“I’m not saying we should be purple at any point tomorrow in quali. I think purple is a difficult thing to do nowadays, but somewhere hopefully in the top 10 after a race where in Hungary, even maximising everything, it was impossible to be in the top 10,”
he acknowledged.
“So, hopefully this weekend we can fight for our top 10 and that will give us better opportunities to then get some points. It’s been a while.”
Opportunity to End a Pointless Streak
This Grand Prix represents a chance for Sainz to rebound after several consecutive weekends without scoring points. His last points finish came during the Canadian Grand Prix, where he secured 10th place, underscoring the importance of a strong result at Zandvoort for both the driver and the Williams team.
