Carlos Sainz has now changed his ‘plans’ at Williams after divulging his Ferrari F1 secrets

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Carlos Sainz joined Williams from Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season, with many in F1 expecting him to replace Alex Albon as the Grove crew’s new team leader this term.

Yet the Spaniard has seldom been a match for the London-born Thai in the FW47 during the first 15 Grands Prix. While Williams have only seen Albon lead Sainz in qualifying eight times to seven so far, the former led the latter home in 10 of the 14 Grands Prix they both started.

Also, while Sainz only finished the Dutch Grand Prix in P13 after a crash with Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls merited a 10-second penalty, Albon capitalised on the misfortune of his rivals to finish in P5. It was even Albon’s fourth P5 finish this term, while Sainz’s best result is only P8.

Sainz felt his Dutch GP penalty was “ridiculous”, having been ruled responsible for what was largely a racing incident. The 31-year-old sustained front wing damage after tagging the rear of Lawson’s VCARB 02 exiting Turn 1, only after the Racing Bulls pilot had a kick of oversteer.

Carlos Sainz now plans to be ‘selfish’ after giving Williams his knowledge from Ferrari

Sainz’s misfortune at Zandvoort also means the Madrid native has now failed to take a point from the past five Grands Prix. The four-time race winner last finished in the top 10 with his P10 in Canada. Sainz did not start the Austrian GP due to a brake issue on the formation lap.

READ MORE: Williams star Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height

Additionally, Albon’s P5 in the Dutch GP means the 29-year-old has now outscored Sainz by 48 points with Williams in the 2025 F1 season. Albon sits eighth in the F1 drivers’ standings with 64 points, while Sainz slumps in 17th place with 16 points since he joined from Ferrari.

Only four members of F1’s 2025 rookie class have also scored fewer points than Sainz so far this term. So, Sainz has now changed his ‘plans’ at Williams and will be ‘more selfish’ going forward after divulging the secrets he held from four years at Ferrari, according to MARCA.

Sainz dedicated the first half of his season to sharing everything he learned at Ferrari to try to help Williams improve. Now, however, he wants to focus on his own performances after seeing Albon secure points in 10 of the 15 Grands Prix thus far, compared to his tally of six.

Williams need Carlos Sainz scoring points to retain fifth in the constructors’ championship

Sainz knew he was stepping backwards when he moved to Williams, having been kicked out of Ferrari to clear a space for Lewis Hamilton to join. But many expected to see more from a six-time F1 polesitter, who even boasts 27 career podiums compared to Albon’s two to date.

READ MORE: Williams star Alex Albon’s life outside F1 with net worth, girlfriend to parents

The pressure of fighting for a win or a podium is the only thing Sainz misses from Ferrari. He took all four of his Grand Prix wins with the pride of Italy, along with 25 podiums after taking two with McLaren. Albon took his only podiums to date with Red Bull back in the 2020 term.

Podiums and, especially, wins at Williams this season will be very unlikely without a surprise result. But the Grove squad need to at least see their stars scoring points. And Williams fear Sainz missed his chance for a big result like Albon’s P5 finishes in Australia, Miami and Imola.

Williams’ fears about Sainz’s chances had even grown before Albon added another P5 to his 2025 record in the Dutch GP. They cannot continue to rely largely on Albon to get fifth place in the F1 constructors’ standings, with Aston Martin 18 points behind with nine rounds left.