Carlos Sainz labeled his Austrian Grand Prix weekend a total “disaster” after a string of technical issues plagued his Williams car throughout the event – culminating in a non-start on Sunday following a rear brake fire on the grid.
The Spaniard was forced to watch the race from the sidelines after his FW47 failed on the formation lap, continuing a run of misfortune for both him and the Grove-based team. His teammate Alex Albon also retired, completing a calamitous Sunday for the Grove-based outfit at the Red Bull Ring.
Sainz’s troubles began during Saturday’s qualifying session, where a suspected piece of debris or a component failure left his car severely compromised.
“Yeah, we must have picked up damage on the floor, which they just confirmed to me that we did,” he said at the time. “I don't know exactly where, because it's not like I went off the track, but something must have fallen off and we lost a lot of downforce.”
But the problems didn’t stop there. Sainz also revealed that a brake issue significantly affected his performance around a circuit with three heavy braking zones.
“On top of that, we had a brake issue from the beginning of quali, pulling massively and the braking to one side. With the three big braking zones here, I was always going to struggle with that.”
He ultimately qualified 19th, setting up a tough race day that never even began.
Race Day Disaster
On Sunday, Sainz lined up for the formation lap but was unable to get the car moving as the rear brakes locked up. Though he managed to reset the system and briefly rejoin the lap, the car’s brakes seized again and caught fire at the end of the pit lane, forcing his immediate retirement.
“[It’s] another problem that we have to see exactly what could have happened,” he explained. “The car was braked from behind when I started the engine and I could not move.”
“I managed to reset it, I did a lap and it stopped again from the back and we had to retire. But yes, many things are happening to us lately.”
©Williams
Reflecting on the wider struggles, Sainz was candid about the challenges both he and the team are facing as technical issues continue to plague their weekends.
“The truth is that this first half of the year is being a little heavy in that sense because things keep happening to us, but at some point all this bad luck will end and things will start to work out.”
Williams Under Pressure as Reliability Issues Mount
Sainz wasn’t the only casualty of the Austrian weekend – teammate Alex Albon also failed to finish, prompting the team to launch an investigation into multiple reliability concerns.
“Yes, anyway as a team also now we have had a problem with Alex by the looks of it. So we have to find out why we are having so many problems both in qualifying and in the race,” said Sainz.
Read also: F1i Driver Ratings for the 2025 Austrian GP“Because it's already several weekends that we have brake problems, engine problems, overheating. Sometimes we are a little bit weak in that sense.
“Very poor, really. All weekend with problems and now both cars are out. It's a bit of a disastrous weekend for us, but we have to grit our teeth and see how we can improve.”
Team principal James Vowles echoed Sainz’s frustration and emphasized that while the car has potential, execution and reliability are still falling short.
“A very disappointing day. We had the pace today to comfortably finish sixth, and yet we walk away with a double DNF,” Vowles said.
“We had two different issues that need to be understood to make sure we rectify them going forward. We're on a good journey towards building a fast car but we're not complete yet in terms of operation and reliability.”
“We have 13 races in front of us and they're key to make sure that we're able to fight at the front with the very best.”
As the team looks ahead to the British Grand Prix, Williams will be under intense pressure to solve its recurring technical issues and provide Sainz and Albon with a car capable of finishing – and fighting – on Sunday at Silverstone.
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Sainz expecting Williams turnaround ‘when all this bad luck ends’ F1i.com.
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