Carlos Sainz just delivered Williams their highest championship finish since 2017. Third place in Qatar. Perfectly executed strategy. Faultless pit stops. Brilliant communication. Everything Ferrari hasn’t managed all season, basically.
The Spaniard’s second podium with the Grove outfit feels different from his Baku result. That one was relief. This one’s vindication. Because whilst he’s dragging Williams into fifth place in the constructors’ championship, his replacement at Ferrari is still trying to work out which way the steering wheel turns.
When “None of My Business” Means Everything
Remember that brilliant moment in Las Vegas when Ted Kravitz asked Sainz about Ferrari drivers needing to “talk less”? The knowing smile. The Kermit the frog reference. “That’s literally me right now.”
Well, guess who slept best after Qatar? Not Lewis Hamilton, who’s spent 2025 discovering that seven titles don’t automatically translate to understanding a red car. Not Charles Leclerc, watching his championship hopes evaporate whilst his former teammate scores podiums in machinery half as good. Carlos bloody Sainz, that’s who.
“This is more unexpected. I embrace it, because it’s a circuit we didn’t expect to be competitive at, but we’ve been more competitive than expected. Never enough to be on the podium though.” – Carlos Sainz
Never enough to be on the podium. Except when you execute everything perfectly whilst your rivals trip over themselves. Which is precisely what Williams did.
The Podium That Felt Different
Sainz admits his Qatar result hits differently than Baku. That first podium was a massive relief after ten races of bad luck and missed opportunities. Fast in the opening rounds, never converting. Baku finally delivered what Williams deserved.
Qatar? That’s pure validation of hard work since Hungary’s nightmare weekend. The team that couldn’t execute race strategy or pit stops has suddenly remembered how motorsport functions.
“Everyone did perfect work, the pit stops were perfect. Everyone was perfect and that’s exactly what we needed.” – Carlos Sainz
Perfect starts. Perfect strategy calls. Perfect tyre management. Perfect communication. All the things Ferrari spectacularly failed to deliver whilst finishing nowhere near the podium.
The timing’s rather poetic, isn’t it? Ferrari’s worst performance weekend of the season coincides with Williams’ highest championship position in eight years. The team Sainz left is crumbling. The team that took him is thriving.
When Something Breaks But You Still Beat Hamilton
Here’s the brilliant bit. Five laps from the end, something actually broke on Sainz’s car. Front-end suddenly gone. Steering wheel crooked on straights. Couldn’t turn right properly. Lost half a second per lap of race pace.
“Something broke in my car, in the front-end. I don’t know if a piece of front wing fell off or something on the tyre. I lost massive front-end in the high-speed and medium-speed.” – Carlos Sainz
Lando Norris caught him rapidly in those final two laps. But Sainz held firm, defending third with damaged machinery against a McLaren that should have demolished him. That’s the difference between a driver in form and one who’s lost the plot.
Meanwhile, Hamilton finished outside the points again, admitting afterwards he didn’t even know who’d won the race. Perhaps if he spent less time complaining about his car and more time actually racing it, he’d have noticed Verstappen taking victory.
The Simulator Nobody Trusted
On paper, Qatar should have been terrible for Williams. Fast corners. Medium-speed sections. All the stuff that destroyed them in Hungary earlier this season. But the team actually learned from their mistakes. Revolutionary concept in F1, apparently.
Setup changes after the sprint race transformed the car completely. Different from Hungary’s disaster setup. The simulator suggested it might work, but nobody truly believed it until FP1.
“From the first lap in FP1 I was competing in the top three and I knew that maybe it was working. During the weekend we made further progress.” – Carlos Sainz
That’s what adaptation looks like. Trial and error. Getting things wrong to discover what doesn’t work. Then trying something completely different. It takes time and races, as Sainz keeps saying. Funny how Ferrari still hasn’t figured that out with Hamilton.
The Question Ferrari Should Be Asking
John Elkann told his drivers to talk less and drive faster. Perhaps he should have considered keeping the driver who’s currently outperforming the seven-time world champion he replaced?
Sainz is the first Williams driver to score multiple podiums in the same season since Massa and Bottas in 2015. He’s delivered results on circuits where Williams had no business competing. He’s extracted maximum performance from a car that’s clearly not in the same league as the top machinery.
And Ferrari? They’re watching their newest signing finish outside the points whilst wondering why replacing a driver in his prime with a 40-year-old legend isn’t working out as planned. Greatness doesn’t bring points or podiums anymore. Just regret and questions about career choices.
Fifth Place Glory For Williams
Williams have secured fifth in the constructors’ championship with one round remaining. Their highest finish since 2017. Built on Sainz’s two podiums and consistent point scoring when opportunities arose.
James Vowles must be feeling rather smug. Signed the driver Ferrari didn’t want. Gave him a car from last century’s infrastructure. Let him adapt at his own pace. Now he’s reaping the rewards whilst Ferrari burns through development budget trying to make Hamilton comfortable.
The contrast couldn’t be starker. Sainz knows exactly what Williams needs. He’s comfortable with the team. Setup changes make sense. Communication works. Strategy calls are executed properly. Everything that should be basic requirements but apparently aren’t at Maranello anymore.
The Kermit Meme Becomes Reality
Remember that meme with the little girl standing in front of the burning house? That’s literally Sainz right now. Sipping tea whilst his former team implodes spectacularly.
He’s too professional to say it publicly. But the satisfaction must be immense. Proving Ferrari wrong. Showing what they’ve lost. Demonstrating that replacing him with Hamilton was perhaps not the galaxy brain move they imagined.
Qatar wasn’t lucky. Wasn’t freak circumstances. Just perfectly executed racing from a driver who’s firing on all cylinders with a team that’s finally remembered how to support him properly. Meanwhile at Ferrari, Hamilton’s still wondering whether he made the right career choice.
None of Sainz’s business, obviously. But the scoreboard tells its own story, doesn’t it?
