Carlos Sainz’s Move to Williams Was Supposed to Be Bold—But Now Even Guenther Steiner Thinks He Might Be Regretting It.
Carlos Sainz has had a very frustrating start to his time at Williams this season.
Williams are the fifth Formula 1 team Carlos Sainz has driven for since his debut in 2015.
After spells at Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren and Ferrari, team principal James Vowles convinced the Spaniard to join his team alongside Alex Albon.
Vowles told Sainz that Williams were sacrificing this season to concentrate on the upcoming regulation changes in 2026.
However, that hasn’t stopped Williams from climbing to fifth in the constructors’ championship this season.
Unfortunately for Sainz, he’s failed to match Albon’s points scoring this year, with the Thai driver currently eighth in the standings on 46 points.
Sainz is seven places below him, sitting on 13 points, although he’s had a lot of bad luck, including former teammate Charles Leclerc crashing into him during the closing stages of the British Grand Prix, denying him another top 10 finish.
Guenther Steiner has been looking at Sainz’s start to the season and believes he might now be regretting his move to Williams.
The 30-year-old had offers from plenty of teams up and down the paddock, and Steiner thinks he’ll be looking longingly at Sauber and Nico Hulkenberg’s remarkable Silverstone podium.
Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
Guenther Steiner thinks Carlos Sainz will regret choosing Williams over Sauber this season
Steiner was asked on The Red Flags Podcast during their ‘Gas or Brake’ feature whether he believes Sainz regrets choosing Williams over Sauber.
He replied: “Gas. But, not only because of the performance, [but] also because he was driving at Ferrari when Mattia was there.
“And I think he, in general, is not having a good experience in the moment at Williams.
“I mean, he’s struggling a lot, and Carlos is a very good driver.
“So they had a very good beginning of the year, but mainly with Albon and not with Carlos. Carlos never had any really good results.
“So, obviously, a little bit of frustration will have set in. And thinking back, I said, I should have gone with Audi. But hey, you make the decision, you live by your choices.”
Carlos Sainz is missing fighting for pole positions at Ferrari since Williams move
Sainz’s average qualifying position this season is outside the top 10, and he once again narrowly missed out on Q3 at the British Grand Prix.
The Spaniard has six pole positions to his name during his career, but is unlikely to be challenging for them again until next season at the earliest.
Sainz admitted he misses competing for pole positions in qualifying, something he was regularly doing at Ferrari.
Leclerc is known as one of F1’s best qualifiers, but Sainz challenged him on a regular basis when they were teammates.
However, the 30-year-old is struggling to beat Albon over one lap, but both drivers are outperforming their Sauber counterparts on Saturdays.
The trouble is, Williams’ lack of investment in their 2025 car is beginning to catch up with them, and on race day, Sauber now appear to have the advantage.
Audi demanded a quick answer from Sainz over his future last season, even though they confirmed Gabriel Bortoleto months after the Spaniard signed his Williams deal.
Sauber have the backing of Audi for next season, and while the lure of racing a works team wasn’t enough to convince Sainz last year, he may be wondering whether or not he made the right choice.
