Carlos Sainz praises Williams strategy in Saudi Arabia: “We executed it perfectly”

Double points finish
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix ended with Carlos Sainz’s best result at the wheel of a Williams, and above all, with a textbook example of teamwork that allowed both Grove team drivers to bring home valuable points for themselves and for the British outfit in the Constructors’ standings after five races.

The importance of DRS
Already the protagonist of a solid qualifying, Carlos Sainz found himself in eighth place in the closing stages, followed by his teammate Alex Albon and, more importantly, by Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, increasingly threatening in the slipstream of the Anglo-Thai driver’s FW47. At that point, in order to prevent an overtake on such a high-speed track as Jeddah, Carlos Sainz allowed Alex Albon to benefit from the slipstream effect, thereby blocking the attack and maintaining position until the chequered flag: “Solid day! We were strong throughout the race, first on the Medium tyre and then on the Hard, with some good overtakes right to the end. Toward the end of the race, the team realized Hadjar could be a threat to Alex, so with about 12-13 laps to go, I was asked to give him DRS,” commented the Spaniard. “It wasn’t easy, because on this track, with three DRS zones, the slightest mistake can be costly. However, we managed it perfectly and secured an important double points finish for the team. I’m really happy to have put together a good weekend and I’m looking forward to Miami!”

Already planned before the start
Thanks also to this strategy, Williams came away with a top-10 double finish, something they had only previously achieved in China, also managing to extend their lead over Haas in the Constructors’ standings and closing the gap to Ferrari to just 4 points: “We executed great teamwork and maximized the result to bring home some good points,” added Alex Albon. “We stayed calm managing Isack Hadjar behind, keeping a DRS train going until the end of the race so he couldn’t gain an advantage. It was a scenario we had prepared for before the race and we worked well together to make it happen. Today we came back really strong and I’m proud of the progress we’ve made as a team.”