Carlos Sainz: We must maintain a positive attitude.

      Carlos Sainz believes that in the difficult situation the Williams team found itself in at the beginning of the season, the task is to maintain a positive attitude and focus on achieving "small victories."

      Williams has made tremendous efforts to prepare as best as possible for the transition to the new technical regulations and hoped that the team, which finished 5th in the Constructors' Championship last year, could take the next step forward in 2026. Instead, it has noticeably lost ground, as the FW48 chassis turned out to be too heavy and is less effective than even other midfield teams, let alone the leaders.

      Although Sainz was able to earn points for 9th place in Shanghai, this was primarily due to the problems faced by competitors, and the Spanish driver assesses the situation quite realistically.

      "We need to maintain a positive attitude, including myself – if we don't, the year will feel too long," Sainz told RacingNews365. "I am going to focus on achieving small victories, and together with the team, we will try to gradually improve. It is quite obvious that the car we are using for the first half of the season is not fast enough even to make it into the second session of qualifying.

      I think I drove a more or less decent lap in China that could have allowed me to get into the second part of qualifying, but we understand what positions we fall back to due to the car's excess weight. However, I feel that it's not just about that. If we want to show what we are capable of, we need to significantly improve and continue to work hard."