Sainz 'getting nowhere' as Williams upgrades fail to close midfield gap

Carlos Sainz’s attempts to drag Williams back into Formula 1 contention are going nowhere, according to former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer, who says the Grove outfit is squandering the advantages it should have after nine rounds of the 2025 season.

Palmer’s assessment came in response to Sainz’s own admission of frustration following the British Grand Prix, where an upgraded front wing on the FW48 failed to deliver the performance gains the team had anticipated. Williams currently sits eighth in the constructors’ championship with just 11 points.

“They’re underperforming,” Palmer said on the F1 Nation podcast. “They have the power unit that’s winning the championship. Everyone else is doing an all right job with that power unit. Alpine have risen to the front in their first year with that. Williams has had a long partnership with Mercedes. That is no excuse.”

Sainz joined Williams ahead of the 2025 season after Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari ended his time at the Scuderia. Despite receiving offers from Alpine and Audi, the Spanish driver chose Williams, drawn by the team’s long-term vision and the prospect of leading a genuine rebuild.

“He’s a driver in demand. He’s a race winner. He’s a seriously intelligent guy who’s trying to be a leader in the team, and he’s just getting nowhere with them,” Palmer said.

Palmer also recalled optimistic words from team principal James Vowles earlier in the season, when Vowles suggested the car’s problems had been solved on paper and that performance gains would follow once upgraded parts could be fitted within budget cap constraints. Those gains have yet to materialise in any meaningful way.

“So then they bring upgrades, and they’re still languishing with two drivers who should be fighting for points every week or better,” Palmer added. “I’m just so disappointed in Williams. You’d have thought they’d at least be able to upgrade it quickly and by the summer they’d be back towards the midfield, but they’re actually not really getting much closer on the whole.”

Alexander Albon, who partners Sainz at Williams, is equally affected. Palmer suggested both drivers have every right to feel aggrieved given what the team had promised heading into the season.

“I think if you’re Sainz and if you’re Albon, you’re miffed with this because everything should be in place to put this together, and it’s just not coming for them.”

With the summer break approaching and the midfield battle intensifying, the pressure on Williams to demonstrate genuine progress is growing — and patience, even from sympathetic observers like Palmer, is running thin.