Carlos Sainz admits Williams endured a ‘complicated winter’ ahead of the 2026 F1 season

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Carlos Sainz didn’t mince his words when giving his verdict on Williams’ pre-season testing and their chances this season.

Carlos Sainz was absent from Williams’ Barcelona testing, as the team didn’t make much of an impression during their run.

Sainz has remained optimistic about Williams’ outlook this season, despite their flaws being highlighted in both Bahrain and Barcelona.

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While Sainz has likened his circumstances with Williams to Fernando Alonso’s situation with Aston Martin, he is aware of the challenge he faces next season.

And during a recent interview, Sainz chalked up Williams’ development problems to a tough winter period for the team.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen predicts any ‘good team’ with Mercedes engines to be competitive in 2026

Carlos Sainz gets brutally honest about Williams’ struggles in pre-season

In a promotional interview with Estrella Galicia, Carlos Sainz was asked about his impressions and takeaways from Williams’ pre-season testing.

The Spaniard did not hold back, admitting that the team didn’t expect to face such complications with the car. While he acknowledged that the start of the season will be tough, he looks forward to addressing the issues as time goes on.

“The conclusions from preseason are that we’ve had a complicated winter as a team – more complicated than we expected. The season hasn’t started yet, but we’ve already been able to sense and understand that the beginning of the year is going to be tough.”

“We’ll have to push very hard to keep improving the car throughout the season and, hopefully, finish the year in a better position than the one we’ll start in.”

“That said, we need to go to the first race, see where everyone stands, see how the cars behave under these new regulations, and understand what we can get out of it.”

“From there, it will become a development race to see who can improve their cars the most over the course of the year.”

READ MORE: Jolyon Palmer says Alex Albon’s Williams looked like an ‘absolute dog’ from trackside in F1 testing

Carlos Sainz not intimidated by new F1 regulations

Also in the interview, Carlos Sainz was asked about the new regulation changes coming to Formula 1 and how he plans to adapt. He noted that he will do what he has done throughout his career – adapt.

“In the end, with that experience, I’ve been through several regulation changes in Formula 1. All of them have required a certain period of adaptation for every driver.”

“It’s true that I haven’t only had to adapt to new regulations – I’ve also had to adapt to new teams. I’ve already been with five different teams in Formula 1. I’m confident that I can adapt quickly, settle in well, and be fully on it from the very first race.”

As an experienced driver, Sainz has somewhat of an edge over the newer class of drivers. In fact, Naomi Schiff has backed Sainz to thrive under new regulations, especially compared to his peers.

Sainz finding success this season despite the new regulations and the struggles of the Williams would be a massive success story.