F1 | Sainz secures another impressive third place: confirming a trend reversal
Carlos Sainz shone under the bright lights of Las Vegas. While the U.S. street circuit was considered favorable for Williams, Sainz added something extra on the wet track, securing a strong third-place qualifying finish. More importantly, this performance confirms how he is now able to fully harness the car’s potential, reversing the struggles seen at the start of the season.
Among the top teams, a surprise also emerged. In the Las Vegas qualifying standings, Carlos Sainz’s third place immediately stands out. Once again, he lifted Williams into the upper ranks, maximizing the car’s potential with a close gap to the front runners.
In fact, Carlos Sainz was the last driver to stay within four-tenths of pole position set by Lando Norris. From fourth place downwards, the gaps widened significantly, with George Russell almost nine-tenths behind the McLaren driver. This third place feels like a minor triumph and perfectly illustrates Williams’ newfound ability to translate the car’s potential into strong results, something that had not consistently happened earlier in the season.
Before Lando Norris surprised everyone, Carlos Sainz briefly dreamed of the pole position. When he crossed the line, among the first drivers to complete a lap, he found himself in the lead with a substantial margin over the competition. Only Max Verstappen and Norris, among the last to cross the line and benefiting from track improvements, managed to surpass him.
“It was really a great lap. I thought it was good enough for pole. When I finished the lap, I saw I was in first place, then I realized I was the first to cross the line. And yes, maybe it wouldn’t have lasted long, but it really felt like a strong qualifying,” Carlos Sainz said after the session, before explaining what had worked and why some elements had surprised him.
“If I had to say, I think we were more competitive on the Extreme Wet tires in Q1 and Q2. I would have preferred to keep that tire type because it gave me the best feel and confidence. Every time I looked at the timing screen, I was in first place. On intermediates, I expected to be slower, since in FP3 we hadn’t been that strong. But in qualifying, it went well.”
Analyzing Carlos Sainz’s comments highlights his preference for the Extreme Wet tires. The FW47 often struggles to show its full potential in qualifying, particularly on softer compounds, which are more sensitive to temperature and movement.
With full wet tires, Williams found a better balance, as many drivers attempted multiple consecutive laps. On intermediates, especially as the track gradually dried, balance became more challenging, as seen in FP3 when the circuit approached slick conditions.
At the start of Q1, all drivers on intermediates struggled to keep temperatures up, as the track was still very wet and the tires could not generate sufficient heat even on long straights. As the track dried, the tires began generating more energy and heat, requiring careful thermal management, which proved challenging for Williams.
Las Vegas was already considered a favorable track for the FW47, enhancing its aerodynamic efficiency and masking weaknesses in slow corners. Most low-speed sections, except for sector two, were dry and featured straight-line braking, minimizing understeer issues seen at similar circuits such as Baku.
However, the wet conditions reshuffled the order. On a dry track tomorrow, graining remains a concern, a challenge that affected Williams last year. “Obviously, on a dry track, I don’t think we would have achieved more than third or fourth row. The wet today allowed us to shine a bit and stay ahead in some parts of Q1, Q2, and Q3. I don’t expect to maintain third if the race is dry tomorrow, but we were fast on the wet.”
While the rain helped, Carlos Sainz’s performance deserves praise and confirms a clear trend. Early in the season, even on circuits favorable to the FW47, mistakes, technical issues, and strategy errors often prevented him from maximizing results. Now, Carlos Sainz consistently extracts the car’s potential and keeps it in the top positions.
Since the summer break, barring rare incidents such as the collision with Liam Lawson in the Netherlands while fighting for fifth, or the penalty in Austin, Carlos Sainz has regularly translated car potential into top results whenever he entered the top ten. Highlights include the podium in Baku, a brilliant comeback in Singapore, and third place in the U.S. race, totaling 24 points.
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