P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Carlos Sainz has fewer than a quarter of the points of his Williams team-mate Alex Albon – how worried should he be?
The performance gap between Carlos Sainz’s expectations and his reality at Williams in his debut season is significant. While Williams has shown a remarkable improvement in form, climbing from ninth to fifth in the constructors’ championship this year, Sainz himself has failed to meet expectations. Sainz has only scored 16 points from seven top-10 finishes, compared to his teammate Alex Albon, who has scored 70 points and achieved four fifth-place finishes. Albon consistently outperforms Sainz in qualifying, with a notable advantage.
Although Albon has been the stronger Williams driver in 2025, it’s oversimplifying to suggest that Sainz has been fully exposed. Sainz has faced challenges adapting to the Williams car, particularly struggling with the team’s handling issues in certain corner types. He has also been hindered by difficulties with tyre warm-up, impacting his race starts and overall performance. Despite these obstacles, Sainz has displayed flashes of strong pace, as seen in races like Jeddah and Imola, showing that his struggles may not solely be due to his adaptation to the team.
