On the official Williams podcast “Team Torque,” Carlos Sainz explains why employees at a Formula 1 factory should definitely take failures personally
If Carlos Sainz is to be believed, employees at a Formula 1 team really need to let their work in Grand Prix racing get under their skin. The Williams driver shares this perspective on the legendary team’s official YouTube channel in the “Team Torque” podcast.
With this approach, Sainz is responding to his teammate Alexander Albon. Among other things, Albon discusses in the podcast how difficult moments have shaped him and ultimately made him the Grand Prix driver he is today.
“A Formula 1 team consists of many individuals who are absolutely outstanding at what they do,” Sainz says. “That’s why they’re on a Formula 1 team. And to become that good at what they do, they have to go through similar experiences to what Alex just described.”
“Formula 1 teams are made up of people who bring a certain resilience and mental strength to the table. What I like to do—and I emphasized this recently at the factory as well—is to say, ‘Take this personally! If we’re not where we want to be right now, or if we’re going through tough times, then take it personally!’”
The team is experiencing precisely such difficult times in the 2026 season. Although the team entered the new generation of Formula 1 with high expectations, so far the Grove-based team has been stuck in the lower midfield at best.
Sainz emphasizes that it’s important to convince yourself that you’ll overcome these difficult times. “Because once you’ve done that,” he explains, “your self-confidence grows tremendously.”
“Suddenly, it’s multiplied tenfold! So if you really dig deep and get through this difficult moment, you know that afterward you’ll be a ten times better version of yourself.”
“I always try to motivate myself this way by telling myself that after the hard times, paradise awaits me—I’ll be on a whole new level. [To do that, you have to] keep pushing through the tough times, take responsibility, and let that sink in somehow.”
Sainz and Albon will also be behind the wheel for Williams in 2027. The B-spec version of the FW48, which will take to the track in Baku, is set to serve as the basis for next year’s car.