Science: Unfortunately, the results do not confirm the speed.

      During the press conference at Spa, Carlos Sainz was asked to provide a brief report on the first half of the season, and the Williams driver honestly admitted that he was very disappointed...

      Carlos Sainz: "Putting together such reports is always difficult, but I would note that we had both achievements and setbacks. Overall, I am very disappointed with how things have unfolded, as I felt the car was capable of a good pace. I adapted quickly to the new team, but showing consistent results in the first half of the season was extremely challenging.

      When there were no reliability issues, there were some incidents, and in Austria, I couldn't even start the race. Additionally, sometimes in the first part of qualifying, I found myself in traffic, and throughout the season, we made mistakes in tactical decisions. Therefore, we didn't achieve the results we wanted.

      But we have speed, which confirms that we are moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, for several reasons, we're just not able to translate that into results. Of course, when battling in the mid-pack, there are their own challenges, and two or three times I was just a few thousandths of a second short of progressing to the second part of qualifying.

      At the same time, I knew exactly what caused me to lose those fractions of a second. But this affected the entire weekend because, in reality, FW47 doesn't allow you to move through the pack easily—unlike when you're driving a car from one of the top three or four teams.

      In the midfield, all cars are evenly matched in pace, so overtaking is very difficult unless you undertake some truly daring actions. Moreover, of course, Williams' car is very different from Ferrari—it has its own flaws, requires a completely different driving style, and different set-ups.

      However, I was able to adapt pretty quickly to that. It's probably worth emphasizing that much of the lap time depends on whether you can establish good communication with the engineers and the team. It’s also crucial to have a proper exchange of information, as so much depends on how decisions related to tactics are made—this applies to both qualifying and races."

      Sainz was also asked what he thinks about the appointment of Laurent Mäkies as the new head of Red Bull Racing, whom he knows well from working together at Ferrari.

      "He's an excellent professional," Carlos replied. "I raced for Ferrari when he was also with the team, and I believe he's incredibly persistent in his work. He understands drivers very well and can find common ground with them, so working with him is very comfortable. He was with FIA initially, then moved to Ferrari, then worked at Racing Point, and now he's leading Red Bull Racing—I think his extensive experience fully qualifies him to oversee one of the biggest teams in the championship.

      Honestly, I think he's perfect for this role, so I congratulate him. Clearly, he earned this promotion, and I believe he'll enjoy working at Red Bull Racing."