Carlos Sainz reveals timeline for adapting to Williams car

Carlos Sainz has opened up about his adaptation process with the Williams Formula 1 team after moving from Ferrari. The Spanish driver has scored just one point from his first two races — coming from post-race disqualifications in Shanghai.

Compared to teammate Alex Albon who has already collected 16 points, Sainz is still trailing in performance — particularly in qualifying sessions. This gap stems from significant differences in car characteristics compared to the Ferrari he drove for the past four years.

“I was used to a certain type of car at Ferrari which made me drive in a very specific way since 2022. Those habits carry over to the new car, and might work in some corners but make you very weak in others,” Sainz explained in Japan.

The 30-year-old driver is targeting an adaptation period of 5 to 10 races to reach optimal performance. Sainz emphasized that this process requires:

• Driving style adjustments
• Car setup experimentation
• Understanding new car characteristics
• Overcoming old habits

“From a driving perspective, the biggest challenge that you can have is to relearn how to approach a corner because you have a certain level of muscle memory, and especially under pressure in qualifying you tend to go back to the way you drive,” he added.