“It’s not what I expected five months ago, but If they had told me in Bahrain that I would have four points after four Grands Prix, I would have signed it without hesitation“, Carlos Sainz told MARCA after finishing ninth in the Miami GP.
And from the outside, ninth seemed easy, but it was based on a good start, recovering from a crash by Verstappen, which pushed him off the track, and overtaking his teammate again a few laps later. “Well, it’s not simple either… We had to do well, fight for it and then it is true that Once I got ninth and was able to establish my pace, I was able to show what the car could do. this weekend. It is clearly the best of the middle of the grid behind Alpine, who is still very far away and is the next objective“, Carlos considered, looking at the next climb that must be ascended.
What the Miami race does give them is a higher point from which to look at the season with some hope. “We are still very far from our expectations and very far from the potential we have as a team, so this only serves as an example that when you do things well, they end up working out. And now we have to make sure that we go in this direction and we recover a little of the promises we made last year“, he said with a burden that Williams and his men have carried since January.
The progress is clear, the first improvements have worked and should continue to arrive little by little in the future, with a big package after the summer holidays.
The great race was not because of the FIA changes
The remodeling of the 2026 engine regulations has coincided with the best race of the year, full of battles, overtaking, accidents, a chaotic finish and significant final penalties. For Carlos, the energy adjustment thing is anecdotal and it was all due to the circuit and its slow sanctions, which allow energy to be recharged in a sustained manner and without crashes. It seemed like one of the old races.
“Was thanks to the circuit and not to the change in regulations. This track, the truth is, is a good one for racing, there have been overtakingI think the race has been funbut I think there is still a lot to do in the regulations, both in qualifying and in the race to improve. What I am happy about is the proactivity of the FIA and the FOM to listen to us and continue improving,” said the man from Madrid.
