Carlos Sainz “still a bit lost” in unlocking Williams’ full potential ahead of first race

Carlos Sainz has been honest about his inability to extract the maximum potential from his Williams F1 car after pre-season testing in Bahrain.

Sainz’s running in testing concluded at the end of day two at the Bahrain International Circuit after spending the whole day in the car.

The Spaniard topped the timesheets for Williams as they stole the headlines with the best time of the test so far.

While it’s unlikely Williams will be able to compete with the top four teams in 2024, they appear to be in a better place than they were 12 months ago.

Sainz is still undergoing the adaptation process, and there’s still some way to go.

Speaking during F1’s testing coverage, Sainz was open about not knowing how to get the maximum from the Williams car yet.

“In terms of driving style, I am still understanding what I need to do with this car to go quick because if I am honest, I am still a bit lost in terms of how to find the lap time,” Sainz said.

“I don’t know if it’s going to come on entries, on exits, minimum speeds and that’s why yesterday’s run was important for me to understand where the lap time is coming from.

“I feel like when I push it I can get to a decent level I still don’t know where the last two tenths of the car are. This is what I need to discover in the first five, six races as I put more soft tyres on the car to try and understand where the lap time is going to come from.”

Alex Albon “the perfect teammate”

Williams signing Sainz, alongside Alex Albon, was a major coup for the team.

It gives Williams their strongest F1 driver line-up since 2016 when they had Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.

Sainz has enjoyed working with Albon and feels the pairing is the right one to take Williams forward.

“Alex is one of the best guys I’ve come across in Formula 1,” Sainz added. “I think he’s an incredibly talented guy but more than anything a good human being.

“And you can tell he’s in this path with Williams where he’s trying to bring this team back to the top. The feedback that he gives, the feedback that he’s giving me about the team, the car, the way he’s helping me also understand the way the team operates and the way the technical element was going last year.

“It’s exactly the kind of relationship and the kind of teammate I need right now in Williams because we’re going to push flat out, both of ourselves to try and bring this team back to the front. And I think Alex is the perfect guy to do that.”