Williams in trouble, Carlos Sainz admits: “We’re trying to figure out what went wrong”. Carlos Sainz reflects on Williams’ difficult start to the 2026 season.

Unexpected crisis for Williams

The winter for Williams was far from straightforward. Despite a strong second half of the 2025 season and high expectations placed on the new regulation changes, the Grove-based team had to skip the entire Barcelona shakedown as the new car was not ready in time. It was an embarrassing situation, only partially mitigated by the reliability shown during the six days of pre-season testing in Bahrain. The difficulties faced by the English team were openly acknowledged on Thursday in Melbourne by Carlos Sainz, who nevertheless expressed confidence in the team’s potential to recover.

“The fact that this winter hasn’t been the easiest for us is obvious,” admitted the Spanish driver. “We had some difficult moments, but the entire season is still ahead. Everyone is motivated to bounce back. Melbourne often brings surprises, and we will try to capitalize on them. We will test the new regulations on a circuit that is perhaps one of the most demanding in terms of energy use. Our situation will be very different compared to Bahrain. As far as we are concerned, the top teams are extremely quick, and the rest of the midfield has fallen further behind: we’ll have to see how we can recover. What went wrong? That is exactly what we are evaluating and trying to understand internally. After focusing everything on 2026, we’ve found ourselves in trouble. We need to analyze and figure it out, but this year, the growth potential will matter more than where we start. I want to lead the team in reacting as quickly as possible.”

Sainz’s championship prediction

Speaking on the official F1 podcast Beyond The Grid, Carlos Sainz did not shy away from offering a prediction on who could become world champion in this highly anticipated and unpredictable 2026 season: “I’ll say two names: George Russell or Max Verstappen,” stated the Spanish driver firmly.

Carlos Sainz’s candid assessment of the “unexpected crisis” at Williams serves as a reminder of how punishing the new technical regulations can be for even the most historic teams. While Grove struggles to understand what went wrong with their winter preparation, Sainz’s focus on long-term growth suggests that the SF-26’s baseline is less important than the team’s ability to evolve under the energy-hungry demands of circuits like Albert Park.