Williams now have one ‘concern’ with Carlos Sainz that they do not have with Alex Albon

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Carlos Sainz will hope the summer break gave him a chance to reset prior to the 2025 F1 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, having struggled to adapt since he joined Williams.

The 30-year-old moved from Maranello to Grove at the start of this year after Ferrari elected to release him and sign Lewis Hamilton. It was always set to see Sainz fall away from fighting for Grand Prix wins, but the Spaniard has even endured his worst season since 2015 thus far.

Not since his rookie season with Toro Rosso, when Sainz only scored 12 points, has he taken fewer points in the first 14 rounds than the Madrid native’s current 16 at Williams. Sainz has struggled to adapt to Williams’ car, with which teammate Alex Albon has penned 54 points.

Sainz even went four Grands Prix without scoring a point for the first time since 2016 before the summer break. He did not start the Austrian GP before sealing P12 in the British GP, P18 in the Belgian GP and P14 in the Hungarian GP. He took three points for P6 in the Spa Sprint.

Williams are concerned that Carlos Sainz has missed out on their best moments

Sainz has not finished a Grand Prix higher than the P8s he took in the Saudi Arabian GP back in round five and the Emilia Romagna GP (round seven) since joining Williams, as well. Albon has finished fifth in Australia (R1), Miami (R6) and Imola, as well as in sixth in Belgium (R13).

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It remains to be seen if Sainz can match Albon’s achievements, too. AS reports that there is now ‘concern’ at Williams that Sainz has missed out on their most competitive moments in the 2025 F1 season. The Grove crew do not see many chances to secure another big result.

While Williams introduced minor updates to the FW47 in Belgium, which they had planned on debuting at the Dutch GP, the new parts have not revolutionised their package. So, Sainz may now have only the Italian GP and Azerbaijan GP to get a big result for Williams in 2025.

Albon feels Williams quickly fell down the order due to their rivals’ upgrades, having elected to embrace a more conservative approach this season and work on F1’s 2026 regulations. In contrast, rivals like Aston Martin and Sauber have profited more from bringing big upgrades.

Williams have survived the threat of Carlos Sainz leaving the team at the end of 2025

Williams will hope that Sainz can finally click with the FW47 and perform closer to the levels that Albon has produced. The Grove team can equal their best finish in the F1 constructors’ standings since 2017 this term, if Albon and Sainz see out their current fifth-place standing.

Despite his struggles to adapt to the FW47 this term, the Spaniard will remain in Grove next season. Sainz’s contract includes an option to leave Williams after 2025, but he has decided to stay at the team after seeing the potential they can deliver ahead of the new regulations.

Williams had faced the potential threat of rival teams trying to coax the Madrid native away for the 2026 F1 season. Christian Horner wanted Red Bull to sign Sainz had Max Verstappen left the team before the Milton Keynes crew fired the Briton as their team principal this July.