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Carlos Sainz has an exit clause in his Williams contract, and based on the team’s rather bleak performance in F1 testing, he needs to activate it.
Williams missed the Barcelona Shakedown entirely due to production delays, so from that standpoint their total mileage in Bahrain was encouraging. They completed a healthy 368 laps during the second test, placing them in the middle of the pack.
But the consensus is that Williams have dropped into the lower midfield, with several experts placing them eighth in the pecking order. In practice, that means fighting just to escape Q1.
Mercedes completed more than three-times as many laps as Aston Martin during the second week of testing in Bahrain!
Which team has impressed you the most? Let us know!
Photo credit: Joe Portlock/Getty Images
Williams were the first team to stop developing their 2025 car and have been looking to 2026 as their opportunity to become a front-runner again, but their best time of testing – set by Sainz – was just under 2.5 seconds off Charles Leclerc’s overall benchmark.
Carlos Sainz’s ‘frank’ assessment of Williams after F1 testing
Speaking after the signing was announced in 2024, James Vowles confirmed that Sainz could ‘review’ his Williams future in 2026 and decide whether to see out the last two years of the deal.
Williams weren’t expecting to win until 2027 or 2028, but as Sainz explained to SoyMotor, they were expecting to get closer to the top teams this year, not further away. The chasm is so large that even their long-term objectives are now in doubt.
Sainz won’t accept a long-term spell in the midfield, and nor should he, as a four-time Grand Prix winner with 29 podiums. There could be openings at all of the top teams in this year’s driver market, and he may already be considering his future.
Which driver will be the biggest disappointment of 2026, other than the Aston Martin duo?
“I think, to be very frank, that step forward isn’t likely to happen anytime soon,” Sainz said. “The initial impression from testing is that the top four teams from last year are even better than they were last year, while the midfield is even more midfield than it was last year.
“Unfortunately, I think the rule change has widened the gap between teams, as often happens.
“We thought we could close that gap with a rule change, but the reality is that perhaps the rule change has exposed exactly the areas where we’re still not at the level we need to be, and at least the beginning of the season will be tough.
“But it’s also what they always say: it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. What matters most to me from now on, after having a better look at the situation, is seeing how much we can improve during the year and how much we can start closing the gap again.”
- READ MORE: Carlos Sainz explains why he didn’t want F1’s regulations to change ahead of the 2026 season
Asked how he was dealing with the situation, he said: “Well, with a touch of anger, for sure, because in the end there was a lot of ambition in the team, optimism too after last year, and, well, going through a rough patch, I think it’s always possible. In your career, or in the trajectory of any team, you can go through a rough patch.
“The important thing is how you recover from it. That’s why for me it’s going to be crucial to see how we recover from that rough patch during this season, because it’s clear that the winter has been extremely tough for us; we’ve encountered problems we weren’t expecting.”
Jolyon Palmer says overweight Williams car has gone backwards
One report before testing claimed that Williams needed a new chassis because their first attempt is so far above the weight limit. As Jolyon Palmer explained to F1TV, that automatically costs them significant lap time.
Perhaps, when they shed weight, they will make major strides. But the rate of development elsewhere will also be higher than ever, and that’s the biggest problem for Williams right now.
Sainz scored two Grand Prix podiums in his first season at Grove and finished ninth in the standings, just behind Albon. That was an excellent start, but the positivity is now dissipating.
“I’m disappointed for the team and for the drivers,” said Palmer. “I think they’ve got a really strong driver line-up, like we saw last year.
“We spoke about Alpine turning off the taps last year, but we documented for a long time how Williams were switching resource to this year, and the big thing for them is that they are so overweight with the car. That is just instant lap time.
“They will shave weight off it, but from fifth place, they were looking to get towards the top four, and they’re not even going to be fifth place as teams stand.”
It may seem early to make any rash decisions, but at the age of 31, Sainz should only bide his time if Williams look a sure bet for success. He can no longer have confidence in that outcome.
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