Carlos Sainz has struggled again during Williams' first day of testing in China.
Sainz and Williams' bad luck have carried their problems from Melbourne to Shanghai, and the Spanish driver has once again seen his track time cut short.
After a shortened free practice session, qualifying for the sprint race did not yield the best result, so the Spaniard spoke about it at the end of the day.
“It was as we expected—a difficult circuit for us—but having a free practice session like that didn’t help either,” said Sainz.
“We could be fighting for more, but we’ll take advantage of this to run as many tests as possible,” he added.
For now, the difficulties faced by Carlos Sainz Jr. and Williams Racing appear to be part of the broader challenge of rebuilding competitiveness in a constantly evolving Formula 1 landscape. Weekends like the one unfolding in Shanghai often serve as valuable learning opportunities rather than immediate turning points. Teams must balance short-term performance with long-term development, especially in a season where incremental gains can make a significant difference over time. Sainz’s comments suggest that while frustration exists, the focus remains on experimentation and gathering data that could unlock improvements later in the campaign. Whether those efforts translate into meaningful progress during this race weekend—or in the upcoming rounds—remains to be seen, but the process of finding answers is clearly still underway.
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Williams and its expectations for 2026.
Williams has long emphasized that its approach for 2026 is centered on regulatory changes. It was therefore surprising to see that the team was not ready for the first test session in Barcelona in January, and technical issues have persisted ever since.
The team boasts one of the most talented driver lineups on the grid, and its stars are not content with finishes outside the points. In 2025, Sainz secured two Grand Prix podiums and one sprint race podium, while the team finished in the top five in the constructors’ championship.
Expectations for 2026 were to finish in the top four, but so far that goal has not materialized. Even Albon commented after the Australian Grand Prix that the team isn’t even competing in the midfield battle.
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