Sep.26 (GMM) Carlos Sainz says Williams’ long-awaited Baku upgrade surprised even the team after finally giving him a chance to show more of his pace this season.
Sainz has spent much of 2026 warning that Williams had fallen behind in the development race, despite extending his stay with the team.
But in Baku, the Spaniard unexpectedly reached Q3.
“It was a surprise for us too,” he told Spanish media.
“We knew the upgrade was important, that it would make us faster, but I hadn’t seen the possibility of getting into Q3 all weekend until that Q1 lap I did.”
“I did a really good lap at the start of Q1 and thought, ‘Maybe there’s a chance here to shine a bit and get into Q3.’ And from then on I kept improving, and the Q2 and Q3 laps were great.”
Sainz said the result was especially welcome after a frustrating season so far.
“This year we’ve suffered a lot, we’ve been far from where we were last year,” he said.
“The reality is that I’ve been driving well all year, and this was the first opportunity I’ve had to shine a bit more and show some grit and determination, and how much I miss fighting for podiums and wins.”
“Well, at least today I made it to Q3, which was important.”
He was subsequently handed a five-place grid penalty, despite initially insisting he had followed the required procedure.
But Sainz remained upbeat.
“Whether I’m penalised or not, today we did what we had to do, or even more than what we had to do. So at least I’m enjoying that today and tomorrow I’ll try to score points.”