Sainz: Definitely, I don't regret joining Williams.

      After the first 14 rounds of the season Carlos Sainz sits only 16th in the drivers' standings, and he is clearly not satisfied with that situation. His Williams teammate Alex Albon has managed to score points more regularly, while the Spanish driver's results have not been the best, although he insists he adapted quickly to the FW47.

      Recently we quoted Günther Steiner's view that Sainz should have moved to Sauber/Audi because it's a more promising project. However, in an interview with Racer Carlos insists he made the right choice when he signed with the Grove-based team a year ago.

      "My hopes were tied to Williams having a decent car in 2025 that would allow us to fight for points and not fall to the very back of the pack," the Spanish driver said. "When you're running somewhere near the top ten it can still be enjoyable because you're fighting for points.

      "Maybe that sounds stupid, but it's still much better than fighting for 16th or 17th — if all 24 rounds of the season are like that, any driver would be upset.

      "And at the same time there are hopes tied to 2026 and the years beyond: what level will Williams be able to reach? I have a feeling that in two or three years we can be in contention for wins. I hope so.

      "I was afraid I'd end up at the back of the pack, in a team that didn't have the potential to reach championship level. But I see that Williams has potential — and not a small amount. It's a very promising project aimed at becoming a more competitive team in the future.

      "Definitely, I do not regret moving to Williams. What I see gives me hope. The pace potential of the 2025 car and the team's capabilities have exceeded my expectations. So I'm quite satisfied that I made that decision. I'm only disappointed that for one reason or another I haven't been able to achieve better results...

      "I can see that I have potential. I think I'd be more worried if every weekend I was losing to my teammate by three or four tenths and couldn't show a comparable pace... But the facts are that sometimes I'm faster than him, sometimes I lose by a tenth, and I know I can produce roughly the same results.

      "The difference in speed isn't comparable to the difference in points, and that's a bit strange, because I feel like I'm competitive. I feel like I'm showing a normal speed. It feels like when I'm behind the wheel of the Williams in qualifying I can still go faster, and I have the potential. But I think that over the whole time we've only managed to put together one or two good weekends..."

      We quoted James Vowles, the team principal, who is aiming the team at achieving higher results in the long term and is prepared for the possibility that Williams will not be able to hold on to 5th place in the Constructors' Championship this season.

      "That was discussed before I joined the team, long before our first race weekend," Sainz confirms. "I just know the level at which a Formula 1 team needs to operate to become more competitive, for example like Ferrari.

      "I came here with a few ideas because there are some working practices I like that I can pick out based on experience of working with four or five championship teams. And if I were to build the team of my dreams, I have my own ideas about how it should operate, what its structure should be, how information exchange should be organized — I simply shared all of that with James and Williams' senior management...

      "The outlined development trajectory is roughly what I expected, or even better. I suppose if last year someone had told me that in qualifying in Miami or Imola I would be able to beat Mercedes and Ferrari cars, I wouldn't have believed it.

      "When drivers from those teams make mistakes, we sometimes manage to get ahead of them. Williams has certain strengths, and we've almost become the best in the midfield, and at times have troubled the top four. But it still seems to me that we've only completed about 25% of the upward trajectory we're on. And next year will be much more important."