Carlos Sainz finished ninth in China, ninth in Miami and ninth in Canada. Those three results, all before the end of May, are all six of his points in 2026.
In the nine races since, he has not finished higher than twelfth. The Williams FW48 has been described as a step back from its predecessor, and the team has not scored since Monaco. Sainz, a four-time Grand Prix winner, signed a new multi-year contract with Williams in August regardless, which says more about where the team thinks it is going than where it is.
Every message he exchanged with his engineer on air this season, from the Canadian Grand Prix onward, is on
