Carlos Sainz has openly shared his perspective on the biggest performance disparities he has noticed since moving from Ferrari to Williams this season. With Ferrari clinching pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Sainz’s experience driving the Williams FW47 has given him a firsthand understanding of the car’s notable deficiencies compared to his previous Ferrari rides. His observations reveal critical challenges Williams must address to become competitive again.
Challenges Faced in Adapting to the FW47’s Unique Characteristics
Despite being regarded as one of the leading talents in Formula 1 during 2024, Sainz endured a difficult year after Ferrari announced in the pre-season that he would be replaced by Lewis Hamilton. Following that, Sainz secured a seat at Williams alongside teammate Alex Albon for the current campaign.
Adjusting to the FW47 has proven to be a steep challenge. While Albon accumulated 54 points, Sainz managed only 16, underscoring the struggles that come with adapting to a new car under the strict ground-effect aerodynamic rules. Sainz has admitted that it would take months before he became truly comfortable with Williams’ distinct setup.
At the Hungarian Grand Prix, however, Sainz outqualified Albon, finishing ahead of his teammate in the race, which shows gradual progress in his adaptation. But the Spaniard’s experience also highlighted how different the Williams FW47 feels compared to the Ferrari chassis he left behind.
He explained that the power units—the Ferrari engine he previously drove and the Mercedes unit in the FW47—are fundamentally different, affecting things like gear usage and engine braking. This necessitates an altered driving style to optimize performance. His insights align with comments made by Lewis Hamilton, who switched in the opposite direction and noted the same contrasts.
“The way you use the gears, the downshifts, how it goes into engine braking… the transition from the brake migration to the engine braking is different, and you have to change your driving style, for sure,”
—Carlos Sainz, Williams Driver
Technical Shortcomings Revealed by Performance Disparity With Ferrari
With Charles Leclerc securing pole position for Ferrari at Hungary, Sainz qualified 13th, allowing him to provide Williams valuable feedback on where the FW47 falls short. Drawing from his experience in the dominant Ferrari, he is helping the team understand why their car struggles on particular track types.
“Obviously I’m coming from the team that was on pole, then going back to a team that was P13 yesterday with me, and I could give them very strong feedback on why this car is lagging around a track like this,”
—Carlos Sainz, Williams Driver
He explained that the Williams FW47 lacks the aerodynamic efficiency needed to maintain strong downforce in long corners. Tracks like Hungary, Barcelona, and Qatar, known for their flowing, combined turns, expose the FW47’s aero weaknesses. By contrast, Williams performs better on circuits that feature sharp, brief corners and long straights.
Sainz underlined the necessity for a “very big philosophy change” in the design and development of the car to achieve balance and improved competitiveness:
“We have relatively poor aero characteristics in long corners, where you need to hold the downforce from entry to mid corner. We struggle with these kinds of things. It’s been a trend for a very long time.”
“That’s why long straights and sharp, short corners are good for the team. But the moment we get into long combined corners like at Barcelona, Hungary, Qatar, the car really struggles, but it needs a very big philosophy change and design philosophy change for the future.”
“We’re trying to understand where and what to change to make sure the next year’s car is a bit more of an all-rounder and gives us a better platform to work at multiple tracks.”
Team Alignment on Long-Term Development Priorities
Despite the difficulties, Sainz says the partnership between himself, Alex Albon, and Williams management has fostered a strong mutual understanding of how to move the team forward, especially with the new technical regulations approaching in 2026. The team has shifted its development focus to prepare for those rules, led by team principal James Vowles.
“I think it’s been a very strong start to our time together in terms of the way we want to develop the team, the car, the interaction with Alex, with James, we are honestly all very aligned and very optimistic moving forward,”
—Carlos Sainz, Williams Driver
Sainz also noted the current season‘s limitations since the FW47 cannot be significantly developed further, placing both drivers and engineers in a difficult position. The team must wait until next year to tackle the car’s main weaknesses properly.
“So it’s not like we can exploit the feedback of the two drivers and the intentions that we have to develop this car what we need, because we are not putting it in the wind tunnel to develop so that’s where next year is going to be a lot more challenging for the team and for ourselves to see if we can actually improve the main weaknesses of this car. That is clear.”
Williams’ Current Position and Future Challenges
Williams currently holds fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship, reflecting steady progress in recent years under James Vowles’ leadership. The Grove-based team has moved away from its previous struggles at the back of the grid, positioning itself as the best of the rest behind the sport’s top teams.
However, Vowles has made it clear that Williams will not compromise its preparation for 2026 by diverting resources into developing the FW47 further this season. While the team is improving, Vowles stopped short of claiming a full turnaround from their past difficulties.
“Generally moving in the right way,”
—James Vowles, Williams Team Principal
Sainz, aware that opportunities for points are limited without car improvements, is concentrating on maximizing his race weekend performances and establishing consistency.
“From my side, in the short term, I’ll just focus on weekend executions. There’s nothing really we can do to the aero or to the setup of the car,”
—Carlos Sainz, Williams Driver
He described trying several different setups at the Hungarian Grand Prix before settling back on a configuration that had previously yielded strong qualifying results at tracks like Miami and Imola. He admits that despite their best efforts, the team appears outdeveloped at certain circuits.
Looking ahead, consistency and clean race weekends are Sainz’s immediate goals, as he believes the FW47 is not well suited to tracks like Hungary but could have performed better at other venues if clean execution was achieved.
“But, if we had had a clean weekend like this at Spa, Miami, and Imola, we would have scored a lot of points.”
Outlook for Williams and Sainz Through the Season
The insights Carlos Sainz has shared underscore Williams’ current predicament: a car with distinct strengths but critical weaknesses that impede strong performances on certain circuits. His Carlos Sainz Williams FW47 comparison highlights the urgent need for a strategic redesign to improve aerodynamic balance and adaptability across varied tracks.
Williams’ strategic emphasis on the 2026 regulations suggests a longer-term view, where current development sacrifices are made with future competitiveness in mind. Sainz’s focus on race weekend consistency and team alignment provides a pragmatic approach during this challenging transition year.
As the season progresses, Williams faces pressure to maintain their current position while preparing for substantial technical changes on the horizon. The team’s success will likely depend on how effectively they can integrate development learnings from drivers like Sainz and Albon to build a more well-rounded car for next season.