Carlos Sainz: “Given the circumstances, we should be happy and proud of our performance” | Singapore GP. Carlos Sainz scores a valuable point for Williams at the Singapore GP.

A valuable point

Few would have imagined a Williams finishing in the points on a street circuit like Marina Bay, which does not favor overtaking, especially after both Grove cars were disqualified for a technical DRS irregularity detected after qualifying. However, contrary to expectations—and in a race that saw no retirements—the feat was achieved by Carlos Sainz.

In a particularly strong period for the Spanish driver, highlighted by his recent podium in Baku, Sainz crossed the line in tenth after starting 18th due to additional penalties for Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, who had to start from the pit lane for parc fermé changes. “Given the circumstances, we should be happy and proud of our performance,” he commented. “It was a straightforward race without a safety car, but we still managed to climb the order and secure a valuable point from 18th. We were able to extend the life of the medium tires longer than anyone else, and once the softs were fitted, I completed a very fast stint and executed several decisive overtakes. We could have fought higher up, but overall I am very satisfied with our race performance. We will take this experience forward and start preparing for the next races.”

Albon faces challenges from the pit lane

Climbing into the points from the pit lane on a circuit like Marina Bay would have been nearly impossible for Alex Albon, who now focuses on the next round in the United States in two weeks. “Starting from the pit lane, we knew it would be a testing session for us,” the Anglo-Thai driver explained after finishing 14th. “We tried a setup just to learn something, and it didn’t work very well, but that’s fine because we can use the data for future races. We had good pace in clean air, but were mostly stuck behind traffic and held up by blue flags. Even with fresher tires, we had to wait for the car ahead to catch up, so it was one of those races where we couldn’t do much, especially without a safety car. We learned a lot from this weekend and will try to fix everything for the next race in Austin.”