RacingCarlos Sainz says Williams needs more than a normal upgrade push during Formula 1’s five-week April break, because even a “big, big push” may still leave the team short of the midfield by the time F1 reaches Miami.
Speaking to media including RacingNews365, the Williams driver said the Grove team has gone backwards from its 2025 level and now sits around three-tenths off the midfield. That, according to Sainz in those comments to media including RacingNews365, means the target is not simply to improve before the Miami Grand Prix on May 1-3. Williams has to find more than the teams around it.
Sainz described the opening stretch of the season as a rough one for the team. He said, in comments to media including RacingNews365, that Williams has had “a highly challenging start to the new season” and is “languishing towards the back of the field.” He also said the current car represents “a considerable step in the wrong direction” compared with 2025, when Williams “consistently scored points” and finished fifth in the constructors’ championship.
That is why this break matters so much. Formula 1 now has five weeks before the paddock returns in Miami, and Sainz said Williams must use that window to try to change its direction. “I expect that team, will do a big, big push over the month to come up with something for Miami that is a good step forward,” Sainz, the Williams driver, said in comments to media including RacingNews365.
He also made clear that raw improvement on its own will not tell the full story. “At the same time in the sport, everything is relative. So you can bring a big step forward, if the others bring a big step, then you haven't moved forward,” Sainz, the Williams driver, said in comments to media including RacingNews365.
That is where the gap becomes the problem. “You're still three-tenths behind the midfield. So it's more about how much of a bigger step forward you bring to the rest of the teams,” Sainz, the Williams driver, said in comments to media including RacingNews365.
Sainz also pointed to the areas Williams needs to attack with the car itself. He said, in comments to media including RacingNews365, that excess weight remains one of the team’s main limitations, but he did not present that as a complete fix by itself. “I hope that in that case, we know we have a lot of weight to take out of the car,” Sainz, the Williams driver, said in comments to media including RacingNews365.
He paired that with a need for more aerodynamic performance. “We have a lot of downforce to add. It will be how much we are able to do for Miami,” Sainz, the Williams driver, said in comments to media including RacingNews365.
The message from Sainz is straightforward. Williams has a month to respond, but the standard is higher than just bringing new parts. By his own assessment to media including RacingNews365, the team has slipped from a car that scored points regularly and finished fifth in 2025 to one that now needs a bigger gain than its direct rivals just to close the gap.