How Williams driver Carlos Sainz explains his “undriveable” car in Formula 1 qualifying in Austria and what he can still achieve in the Grand Prix
Williams driver Carlos Sainz had strong words to say about his FW47 in Formula 1 qualifying 2025 at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg: The car was “undriveable,” Sainz radioed to the command center after failing to complete a clean lap. The result: only 19th place out of 20 participants, the third Q1 exit in a row for Sainz.
But this time, the Spanish driver does not feel responsible: “The team has just confirmed that we have sustained damage somewhere on the underbody. I don’t know exactly where, because I didn’t leave the track, but something must have come loose and we lost a lot of downforce as a result.”
Sainz also said that he had been struggling with a “brake problem” from the start of qualifying. His car had “pulled massively to one side” when braking. That’s why he knew early on that he wouldn’t get very far in qualifying and would have “big difficulties.” “We still have to find out exactly what was going on,” said Sainz.
Sainz ruled out any connection with technical changes to the car after the Canadian Grand Prix: “We did experiment a little with the brake material to find improvements. That makes the weekend a little more stressful because you’re focusing on other things. But I don’t think it’s related.”
Sainz believes: “Top end of Q2” was possible
So Sainz can only look at the overall result to see what might have been possible in the Williams: teammate Alexander Albon finished twelfth in the sister car.
However, he rules out a top-10 start – “because of our problems with the soft tires,” explains Sainz. “We’ve known since Friday that we have the pace for midfield in the race, but for some reason we always struggle on the soft tires.”
This makes it difficult to strategize for the race, especially as it is still unclear whether Sainz’s car will need extensive repairs, which could even mean a pit lane start. “We’ll have to see if the damage can be repaired, and if not, we’ll take it from there,” says Sainz.
Just drive along? Not an option for Sainz!
However, the Williams driver, who is starting from 19th on the grid, does not want to hear anything about an “extended test drive under race conditions”: “I’m not here to test. I’m certainly not here to be in P19.”
After repeated difficult qualifying sessions in the FW47, it’s time to “find out what’s going on,” says Sainz. “We’re just going through this negative streak and need to look at what we can do better as a team.” That applies “especially in qualifying” and in handling the soft Pirelli tires.
“To be honest, my race pace is good. And whenever I drive under normal circumstances, I’m fast. But we just have to get everything together,” says Sainz.
