Carlos Sis says many Williams people would have doubted that he could turn his front row start to the podium before his breakthrough performance at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Sainz came in second in Baku and third behind Runaway winners Max Verstappen and George Russell. The Spaniard had to absorb Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s pressure in the second Mercedes, deep in the race’s second stint, but the fully judged strategy secured him a place on the podium.
Sainz was sure he could bring the trophy home on Saturday night, but the Mercedes drivers both top five, top ten McLaren and top 12 Ferrari drivers admitted that after the race, everyone on the team hadn’t shared his views.
“If you probably asked a lot of us yesterday, we didn’t believe the podium would actually be achieved,” he said. “But I think we had a good pace this year, and we didn’t have many opportunities to show that.
“I can always grab that podium whenever the first big opportunity comes to our team to fight for the podium, unless we control everything, as long as we prove to everyone that we are doing, as long as we prove to everyone that we are doing.
“We had a chance to start with P2. Today we had a very good opportunity to show a very good pace and we managed to stay on the podium. Only George could beat us at a very good pace, but it was a very well-running race.”
He ultimately gave way to Russell, but Sainz proved that his qualifying pace was not a vampire. Simon Galloway/Getty Images
As a result, he became Williams’ fourth podium in the last decade and his first podium since the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix. The team’s final podium trophy from the race where Lancestrol ran the distance at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Sainz took the podium last November and won the last four victories in October last year.
“100% clearly makes even more sense when I put a bet on Williams a year ago. I said I’m going to this team because I really believe in this project and really believe this team is on the rise,” he said. “I am very comfortable in this work environment, very comfortable with everyone around me, and actually quite fast in the car all year round.
“Of all the people who changed teams, this is not an easy task these days – I was very fast competitive since the first race, but I had no results.
“I think life has taught me many times that this happens sometimes. You have a run of unhappiness or bad performances, but then if you keep working hard, if you have something like this, all of a sudden life will come back to you.”