(Motorsport-Total.com) – Italy has always been considered one of Williams’ strong tracks in recent years. The car has recently been very strong in top speed and on long straights, which is of course a huge advantage on the high-speed Monza track. But in 2026, the team need not hope for this, as Carlos Sainz says.
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Because according to him, nothing of the former philosophy remains in the car: “This year we have seen neither great power nor particularly strong top speed in the car,” he waves off. “Therefore, unfortunately, I do not expect Williams to perform particularly well in Monza.”
Asked about the strengths of this year’s FW48, the Spaniard has a clear answer: not many. “That is why we are so disappointed with the car’s performance this year – because it basically has no strengths, but plenty of weaknesses,” he says.
“In the end, you don’t travel to any racetrack expecting a miracle because you know you have no specific strengths. That is the reality. That is exactly why we have to change so much for next year and press the reset button so drastically, because this year we were wrong on extremely many things,” says the Spaniard.
Baku upgrade more important than Monza
With the Mercedes engine, Williams at least has a small advantage at the rear. According to Sainz, that should be enough to at least be ahead of Cadillac and Aston Martin. “But I emphasize: That gives me no satisfaction,” he shakes his head. “That is not where we want to be, and not where we should be.”
Whether he fights for 14th, 15th, 16th, or 17th place makes no difference to the Williams driver and he therefore does not care.
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More important than the result in Monza for him is the upcoming upgrade for the FW48 in Baku. Sainz wants to see if it works and delivers what Williams hopes for. “Above all, we have to see that the wind tunnel correlation is correct and that the upgrade works as it should,” he says.
“Only that gives us the confidence that everything we develop for next year’s car will also translate to the track. And that is the most important thing.”
Finally getting rid of old parts in Baku
For Baku, Sainz expects a performance gain for another reason: then he and teammate Alexander Albon no longer have to run with old parts. “When you bring so few new parts, the components that have been in use since Miami naturally wear out over time,” he explains. “That inevitably leads to a loss of performance.”
That identical parts behave differently as a result is no surprise to him. “In the end, it is simply the wear that the parts accumulate over so many races. You have to repair them multiple times because they get damaged during races. Piece by piece, these parts then lose performance because they are no longer new.”
“In the end, this shows – and I am sure that the Baku upgrade alone will bring us progress simply because we have brand new parts on the car again.”
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