Sainz urges Williams factory to 'take it personal' as team battles difficult 2026 start

Carlos Sainz has called on Williams staff to channel the team’s difficult 2026 Formula 1 start into personal motivation, telling factory employees to “take it personal” as the Grove outfit works to claw back ground after a troubled pre-season.

Williams arrived at Bahrain testing on the back foot, having missed private running in Barcelona and carrying an overweight car under the new 2026 technical regulations. The setbacks represented a sharp contrast to 2025, when Sainz secured two podiums in his debut season with the team and expectations for the following year were high.

Speaking on Williams’s official Team Torque podcast alongside team-mate Alex Albon and team principal James Vowles, Sainz described the address he gave to the wider factory workforce.

“First of all, a Formula 1 team is full of individuals who are brilliant at what they do. That’s why they are in a Formula 1 team, and to be brilliant at what they do, they’ve had to go through similar experiences,” Sainz said, referencing Albon’s earlier comments about building resilience through adversity.

“So F1 teams are built on individuals that have that resilience and that mental toughness. What I like doing, which is what I mentioned the other day in front of the factory, I said, ‘Take it personal. If we are not where we want to be or if we are going through a tough moment, take it personal.’”

Sainz framed the message as a route to a higher level of performance rather than a burden. “‘Build it up on you to say, “I’m going to come out of the other side of it.” Because if you do, your level of confidence ramps up; it multiplies by 10 suddenly. So if you really dig deep and go through that tough moment, you know that what’s after that is a 10 times better version of yourself.’”

The Spaniard added that he applies the same philosophy to his own mindset: “I always try to motivate myself to say I need to get through this because after this there is the paradise, a different level of me. Pushing through it and taking accountability, taking it personal in a way.”

Amid the on-track difficulties, Williams has moved to secure stability off it, confirming contract extensions for both Sainz and Albon as the team continues development work on its 2026-regulation challenger.