Carlos Sainz set the best time on the second day of Formula 1 testing in Bahrain, but warns that Williams is not yet able to keep up with the top teams
New Williams driver Carlos Sainz set the best time of the day on the second day of testing for the 2025 Formula 1 season in Bahrain. Despite this impressive performance, the Spaniard is dampening expectations, emphasizing that Williams is not yet ready to compete with the top teams.
“I think it’s honestly a bit too early for Williams,” says Sainz. “I don’t think we’ve made the necessary step to compete with the top teams this year.”
Sainz, who previously spent four years with Ferrari, was nevertheless pleased with his quick adaptation to the new car. He completed almost 130 laps and topped the timesheet with a best time of 1:29.348 minutes, just 31 thousandths of a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton in a Ferrari. Nevertheless, Sainz warns against overrating the test results. “You can manipulate your lap time by five seconds, so being a tenth or two up doesn’t mean anything to us.”
Sainz paid particular attention to the setup work on the vehicle. Although he felt comfortable right away, he would like more time to try out different setups. “I wish I had tried five, six, seven more setups than what I tested,” he explains.
“I don’t really know where to go with the set-up, I don’t really know where to go with the driving style, where I can get the last small tenths of a lap time and performance.”
Sainz suggests: Was Williams lighter than everyone else?
Another point of discussion was the C4 tire, on which Sainz spun at turn one. He noted that this tire did not perform as expected on the Bahrain circuit. “It seems that the C4 just doesn’t work for this track,” says Sainz. “Which is strange because in the past, the C4 in Bahrain still brought two or three tenths in a qualifying simulation.”
Despite the positive test times, Sainz remains realistic about Williams’ competitiveness. He stresses that it is still too early to make accurate predictions and that the real performance differences will only become visible in the first few races.
“It’s too early to say anything,” he says. ‘Obviously, you could see yesterday that I was trying to go fast, which is not usually the case in testing, and I’m sure the top teams haven’t shown everything yet.’
Sainz: Still far from 100 percent
Sainz also expresses his desire for more testing opportunities to get to know the car and the team better. He criticizes the current testing restrictions in Formula One. “With the current situation of Formula One testing these days, testing doesn’t really exist,” he says. “Which is frustrating for me because I believe that’s exactly where a Formula One team can improve the car and a driver can influence development.”
Regarding his familiarization with the new team, Sainz explains that it will take time to fully adapt. “For me, 100 percent is my last point of reference, which is four years on a team, which was Ferrari,” he explains. “Obviously, after just a day and a half in the car and two months on the team, I’m still far from that 100 percent.”
In conclusion, Sainz emphasizes that despite the positive day of testing, there is still a lot of work ahead of the team to catch up with the top teams. “We have definitely improved the car and are going in the right direction, but it is still too early to make any accurate statements.”
