Sainz says ’quality’ is Williams’ biggest weakness

Carlos Sainz says Williams’ biggest problem is no longer simply car concept or weight, but the consistency and quality of the parts coming out of the factory.

The newly re-signed Spaniard is enduring another difficult weekend at Zandvoort and says apparently identical components are not always behaving the same way.

"What we need to learn as a team is how there is so much variability between parts of the car, and we don’t understand why," he told Spanish media.

"Quality and production control of parts is one of our biggest weaknesses as a team and in general, and it’s where we need to improve the most next year, I’d say."

"More than the weight issue, it’s the quality control of the parts. There are still ghosts of the past in the team that we have to eliminate, because it’s clear that we struggle a lot on race weekends."

For instance, Sainz even says different examples of the same floor specification can behave differently.

"Yes, we do have more floors like that one, we have many of those versions, it’s just that each floor does a little bit of what it wants," he said.

He says that makes understanding the car especially difficult under the new regulations.

"We have a lot to learn as a team because you change one thing and it gives you the opposite. We need to find several issues that are holding us back if we want to compete next year."

"It’s very difficult to make any progress next year without understanding the car."

Team principal James Vowles admits Williams was genuinely worried Sainz could walk away.

"We were worried about losing him because he’s a world championship-calibre driver," said the Briton. "He deserves the opportunity to fight for podiums and more."

"We didn’t give him the opportunity to fight for everything, even though we had a clear vision. Taking a step back carries the risk of losing drivers, but I appreciate that they’ve remained supportive."

For Sainz, the immediate sporting reality remains bleak.

"Honestly we’re fighting for 17th, 16th, 15th."

"So, as a team, we’re focusing on learning, investing, and trying things that will improve us next year. When you’ve been fighting for wins in F1, it feels so insignificant that you prefer to invest in the future."