Carlos Sainz’s journey with Williams got off to a disappointing start after he retired from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on the first lap.
The former Ferrari driver had already revealed that the crash was “related to the upshifts when in Safety Car Mode.”
“We’ve looked at the data and could quickly spot what happened, so this leaves me calmer about the situation,” Sainz said. “Without going into details, it’s related to the upshifts when in Safety Car Mode. I’m obviously frustrated about it and feel sorry for everyone in the team. I spent the rest of the race trying to help on the radio and I’m happy I could at least participate in that way. Thankfully China is already next weekend and I can’t wait to jump back in the car.”
Williams head of vehicle performance Dave Robson explained to the media in China, including Motorsport.com, that the Spanish driver’s crash was a “wet-specific thing,” which they don’t imagine being an issue for the rest of the season:
“Yeah, I think it’s quite a wet specific thing. Some of it was unfamiliarity from Carlos on how our engine and gearbox reacts compared to what he’s used to under the safety car. So, it would have been nice to have done some wet running with him before a really important session, but there’s not much we can do about that.
“We did have some rain in Bahrain, but not enough. Then it would have allowed us to check those settings out. So yeah, he will know how our car reacts in those conditions next time.”
Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
The Australian Grand Prix was pure wet-weather chaos. As rain soaked the track, four of the rookies retired from the race along with Sainz and two-time champion Fernando Alonso.
Looking ahead to a dry weekend in Shanghai, the Chinese Grand Prix brings its own set of challenges as the teams only have one practice session before sprint qualifying later on Friday. Saturday will feature the sprint race followed by qualifying and the Grand Prix will take place as usual on Sunday. The Spaniard will be hoping to complete a full race with his new team.
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