Carlos Sainz grabbed his second podium of the season after a wild Qatar Grand Prix that saw drivers making countless pit stops to manage the challenging track conditions.
“Right from the get-go in practice, the car was a lot better than expected, a lot more competitive,” Sainz said after the race.
His third-place finish helped Williams lock up fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship—their best finish since 2017.
## Sainz’s hot start
Starting from P7 on the grid, the Spaniard quickly moved up as Isack Hadjar and George Russell lost positions in the opening lap.
Williams then made a perfect call, bringing him into the pits during the safety car period.
When Kimi Antonelli got off to a slow restart, Sainz took advantage and climbed even higher in the running order.
The Lusail track is notoriously difficult for overtaking, which played right into Sainz’s hands as he defended his position all the way to the checkered flag.
## “My proudest day at Williams”
“I think it’s my proudest day in Williams,” Sainz told reporters after stepping off the podium.
When asked about the surprising turnaround—he had previously called Qatar his “most difficult weekend” of the season—Sainz credited the team’s preparation.
“It’s mainly due to the hard work everyone’s done trying to prepare for this race after the very difficult weekend we had in Budapest,” he explained.
Budapest features similar long, medium-speed corners where Williams has struggled all season.
“We put together a plan with the team to try some different things in the simulator and in the factory to switch on the car for these kinds of tracks,” said Sainz.
The changes paid off immediately.
“To be honest, right from the get-go in practice, the car was a lot better than expected, a lot more competitive.”
The team didn’t stop there. They made additional adjustments after learning from Saturday’s Sprint race, which dramatically improved their race pace for Sunday.
“Yesterday, we struggled a lot with front deg. Today the car felt a lot better,” Sainz said.
The transformation was remarkable.
“We went from seeing Antonelli checking out in the Sprint and giving us ten seconds, to all of a sudden today having a chance to keep him behind, race him, and even with the strategy thing of the McLarens, keep Lando behind.”
For Williams, this result couldn’t have come at a better time as they continue their impressive resurgence in Formula 1.
