Now that you have had a full 12 months to settle into the staff, how completely different does it really feel coming into 2026 with that basis in place?
Carlos Sainz: Nicely, in some ways, a second season with the staff will really feel very completely different as a result of I’ve met all of the folks that I needed to meet. Clearly, there nonetheless are numerous new faces coming in into the staff over the previous couple of months, however I’ll know primarily all of the core individuals of my staff, which can make issues lots higher, much more streamlined to work with. On the similar time, every thing might be utterly new once more. It is a utterly new automobile, a totally new set of rules, so all of the expertise that I gathered with the FW47 and the best way to drive it, the best way to be as quick as I could possibly be on the finish of the season with it, now it is all all the way down to zero. Now we have to realize all that the expertise and data once more, so it is very excited.
If we instructed you initially of final 12 months that you’d obtain a number of podium finishes, how would you might have felt? Did the outcomes surpass your whole expectations?CS: I feel so, clearly you at all times go into a brand new challenge with very excessive expectations, and my expectations had been at all times excessive going into this challenge with Williams. If initially of the 12 months you’ll have instructed me we might have scored a few podiums, one dash podium, however particularly P5 within the Constructors Championship, drivers within the prime ten of the drivers, I feel that may have been a extremely good 12 months. I feel we had a really strong first 12 months collectively and now we have to construct from it.
This season marks the start of Formulation 1’s new rules. With such an enormous reset throughout the game, how are you liking the problem and what excites you most about adapting to this new technology of automobiles?CS: On one hand, I am very excited now as a result of it is a utterly new set of rules, which suggests all of the groups and all of the drivers begin from a clear sheet of paper the place we need to maximize that chance to the perfect of our talents. On the similar time, I’d have appreciated a pair extra years with an ordinary set of rules to maintain on my adaptation and maintain bringing my data to Williams about every thing I knew in regards to the outdated set of rules. It is one of many important the explanation why I moved to this staff and why I selected Williams as my future challenge, as a result of I trusted lots within the trajectory that we had been on within the challenge going into these new set of rules. I am hoping that we will do one other good step in the suitable route.
What are your private targets for 2026, and what do you suppose the staff can obtain on this first 12 months of the brand new guidelines?CS: I feel it’s unattainable to set sure targets initially of this 12 months as a result of it is so new, so completely different. I feel it is the biggest, largest set of regulation modifications since 2014 or perhaps a greater one. To place an goal of the place you are going to end within the championship, the place you need to end within the constructors, it is virtually an unattainable job for me. The place I will be on the lookout for is how properly the staff is progressing in all of the areas that we all know we had been nonetheless missing and we’re nonetheless weak. So for me, the elemental factor goes to be to maintain seeing progress from the place we completed final 12 months and to maintain seeing a optimistic development like we had been seeing.
You and Alex enter your second season collectively as teammates, how has your working relationship developed over the previous 12 months? And the way do you push the staff collectively to maneuver ahead?CS: The working relationship with Alex was at all times excellent from the start, from this time final 12 months it was already an excellent, strong relationship the place we already labored very laborious by means of the winter collectively. One 12 months after that we all know one another very properly. We all know one another’s strengths and weaknesses, the place I can assist in sure areas, the place he can assist in different areas. Combining his expertise with mine, but in addition our good, wholesome working, aggressive relationship. I feel we can assist Williams fairly a bit this 12 months, particularly as a result of I feel expertise goes to be fairly essential going into a brand new set of rules.
One space the place the staff is unquestionably making enormous progress is off observe commercially. A variety of new companions becoming a member of the staff this 12 months, simply as they did final winter. What does it imply to have help from such manufacturers who need to be a part of this journey and push it ahead?CS: I wish to welcome all our new companions and particularly thank them, you realize, for supporting Williams, supporting our trajectory. I feel they are going to be basic within the subsequent few years in serving to us rework this staff right into a championship successful staff. And I am certain with their assist, we will do all of it collectively. I am very proud to be a part of a staff that so many essential manufacturers all all over the world are actually becoming a member of us they usually need to be a part of it. So welcome to them and let’s work collectively in the direction of a greater future.
