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Carlos Sainz has delivered a damning assessment of Williams' 2026 season, admitting the team is further from the front than when he arrived and labelling the campaign "simply bad". The Spaniard, speaking ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, said his timeline for winning races again has been delayed by at least a year or two and confirmed the Grove-based team is failing to deliver the competitiveness he was promised under the new technical regulations.
Sainz's contract expires at the end of this season, and his unusually frank comments have intensified speculation linking him to Audi and Aston Martin. The 29-year-old joined Williams in 2025 after being displaced at Ferrari by the arrival of Lewis Hamilton, and while he secured two podium finishes in his debut season with the team, the regression in 2026 has left him visibly frustrated.
The 2025 baseline that no longer exists
Sainz told media in Budapest that last season exceeded his expectations when he signed for Williams in 2024. "I've been very open and very clear about the fact that we overperformed in 2025, and that the results were even better than I expected when I put pen to paper," he said. He described the 2025 car as being within three or four tenths of pole position with a well-balanced platform, a level of competitiveness that made the project appear viable.
That optimism has evaporated. "I hoped we could stay at the same level or take a small step forward, but time has taught me it's the other way around. As a team, we're further away from the top than we were in 2025," Sainz said. The gap to Mercedes and Ferrari, the two teams he was expected to challenge under the new rules, has widened rather than closed.
No short-term fix in sight
Sainz made clear he does not expect Williams to resolve its performance deficit quickly. "It's no secret that my expectations, or my timeline for when I can win a race again, have been pushed back by a year or two," he admitted. He added that he had a specific timeframe in mind when he joined, one that reflected how long he was willing to wait for Williams to return to winning form. "That timeline will be longer than expected."
Despite the blunt criticism, Sainz stopped short of writing off the Williams project entirely. "Having said that, I do see what the team is investing in the future. That still gives me confidence and motivation that we're heading in the right direction. It's just that this year's car is underperforming and not meeting our expectations," he said. The Spaniard described 2026 as a year that has "shaped our character" and opened eyes to the scale of work required.
Contract expiry fuels exit speculation
Sainz's deal with Williams runs only through the end of 2026, a relatively short commitment that now appears prescient. Audi and Aston Martin have both been linked with the Spaniard, who remains one of the most experienced and consistent drivers outside the top three teams. His willingness to publicly acknowledge the team's shortcomings, rather than deflect or defer, suggests he is keeping his options open for 2027 and beyond. Williams, for its part, faces a critical few months to prove it can reverse course before one of its highest-profile signings in years walks away.
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