After qualifying third, Spanish driver Carlos Sainz finished the Las Vegas Grand Prix in fifth position, benefiting from the disqualification of both McLarens.
One of the best weekends
The artificial lights of Las Vegas reignited Carlos Sainz after a series of disappointing results that began during the last weekend of the season in the United States and continued across the Atlantic. Despite the Williams driver having secured third place in Austin, the former Ferrari racer had struggled to score points between the Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix, with uninspiring performances and criticism directed at the team for questionable strategies, particularly during qualifying.
In “Sin City,” Sainz impressed in qualifying, securing a surprising third place in the rain, and went on to cross the finish line in seventh, later upgraded to fifth following the McLaren disqualifications. With this result, car #55 heads into the final two races of the season just one point behind Nico Hülkenberg and three points behind Isack Hadjar in the standings. Carlos Sainz said, “We should be satisfied with today’s seventh place (fifth, ed.), because I think we did a good job and managed the race well. Perhaps we were a bit conservative with our pit stops and could have allowed Leclerc and Piastri to fight for positions on track, but these are all valuable lessons. In the end, we had good pace, similar to the top teams, and we were the fastest car in the midfield, so we will score points and continue pushing in the remaining two races. We’ll do our best to maintain this momentum and hold fifth in the championship!”
The struggle continues
Counterbalancing Carlos Sainz’s satisfaction was a difficult weekend for his teammate, Alex Albon. Out of the points since Monza, the Thai driver first crashed during qualifying and then retired early in the race due to technical issues, following contact with Lewis Hamilton during an overtaking attempt. Alex Albon commented, “It was a chaotic race, so it is very disappointing not to score points this weekend. We didn’t have radio communication at any point during the race, so we had to go old-school, using pit boards for all instructions, which compromised our race from the start. We suffered damage at the beginning of the race, but without radio, it was a big risk not knowing if the car was safe to drive or having information about flags, safety cars, or debris. This weekend was a missed opportunity, as we had strong pace on this track. Ultimately, it wasn’t our day, but that’s racing.” – he pointed out.
With Qatar and Abu Dhabi to come, Williams remain locked in a tight battle for seventh in the constructors’ standings, but Carlos Sainz’s resurgence has at least given the Grove outfit genuine hope of ending 2025 Formula 1 campaign on a high.
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