Sainz says Williams ‘still not good enough’ after Austrian GP retirement

Williams left searching after Austria setback

Carlos Sainz delivered a blunt assessment of Williams’s Austrian Grand Prix weekend, insisting the team’s performance was ‘still not good enough’ after another difficult outing ended with his retirement at the Red Bull Ring.

Williams arrived in Spielberg hoping to rejoin the midfield fight, but Saturday immediately exposed the scale of the challenge. Neither Sainz nor Alex Albon progressed beyond Q1, leaving them 17th and 18th on the grid for Sunday’s race. In a weekend where the wider competitive picture was shaped by sharp performance contrasts, including George Russell’s victory in Austria, Williams found itself unable to convert the race into a points opportunity.

Sainz’s Grand Prix lasted only 23 of the scheduled 71 laps. After losing all power while exiting the final corner, he brought the car to a halt along the pit straight, ending a race that had at least shown signs of improvement compared with the team’s qualifying form.

Sainz finds improvement before sudden retirement

The Spaniard said Williams had identified issues with his car across Saturday and overnight, prompting changes before the race. Those adjustments gave him a more competitive platform, even if the final outcome remained deeply frustrating.

‘We’ve discovered a few things overnight and a few things [Saturday] before Qualifying that were not quite right in my car and we did a few changes going into the race,’ Sainz said.

‘It suddenly worked a lot better and was much closer to the midfield than yesterday or any point of the weekend. At least having a bit of fun battling it out with the Haas, Alpine and Audis, getting ourselves in the mix. Unfortunately, I think one-third into the race, everything switched off. That was it for us.’

The retirement extended Sainz’s run to three Grands Prix without a points finish, underlining Williams’s current struggle to generate consistent race-day performance.

Silverstone upgrade becomes key focus

Team Principal James Vowles had already outlined Williams’s upgrade plan for the rest of 2026, beginning with a small package at Silverstone. For Sainz, that update cannot come soon enough.

‘To be honest, it’s still not good enough,’ he said. ‘What I had today was a car that was closer to Barcelona and the rest of the year where I felt more comfortable with, but at the same time, we’ve had a run of very poor weekends in these high speed, hot tracks. We still need an upgrade which Silverstone will bring. Hopefully it means we start to get a bit more competitive.’

Albon reached the finish in 17th, two laps down and ahead only of Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin. His verdict was equally direct.

‘No pace really, as simple as that,’ Albon said, adding that Williams had expected more from Austria and now hopes its Silverstone package can move it closer to the midfield.