Carlos Sainz on Williams' 2026: "completely missed" the new rules
Williams has 12 points this season after 86 at the same stage last year, and Sainz says changes for 2027 are under way.
Carlos Sainz has been unusually blunt about Williams' 2026 season. The team "completely missed the new set of regulations" with its car concept, aerodynamics and timing, he told reporters, RaceFans reported on 9 October. Williams has 12 points this season, against 86 at the same point last year.
A significant upgrade arrived in Baku, where Sainz scored the team's first point in nine rounds, but he said it was not enough to put the car anywhere near safe points-scoring positions. Before the United States Grand Prix he went further, telling Motor Sport Week the car cannot fight for points in a normal race and that "top 14 is very difficult".
Sainz also said Williams is making changes he described as "quite uncomfortable", and is using the last nine races of the season to prepare for 2027. Team principal James Vowles has spoken of a "cost cap trap", where infrastructure spending eats into car development; Sainz agrees it is real but says it has nothing to do with this year's performance.
After Singapore, Sainz had 7 points and Alex Albon 5, leaving Williams ninth in the constructors' standings, according to Crash. Both cars were down in 19th and 20th in Austin's first practice, after data-collection runs. The season ends at Yas Marina on Sunday 6 December.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026Race day Sun 6 Dec · Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi See ticketsSource: RaceFans, Motorsport Week, Crash
