Carlos Sainz endured a ‘frustrating weekend’ at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix, as the Williams racer only inherited a point when McLaren driver Lando Norris crashed out.
The Spaniard was set to finish the Canadian GP in 11th place until Norris crashed into Oscar Piastri on Lap 66 of 70 last Sunday. Sainz was in a position to benefit from the McLaren pair clashing, having been just 0.695 seconds outside of the top 10 before the safety car period.
Sainz was also gaining on Esteban Ocon of Haas for P10 before the safety car after passing Alpine ace Franco Colapinto for P11 on Lap 59. Yet inheriting the final point thanks to Norris crashing into Piastri in the Canadian GP did not improve Sainz’s mood in Montreal last week.
Williams ‘frustrated’ Carlos Sainz after telling him to ‘protect’ their car in the Canadian GP
Williams targeted a top-five finish in the Canadian GP ahead of the weekend, as the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve was expected to suit their car. The Grove squad even feared the Canadian GP could prove to be one of Sainz’s final chances for a top-five finish in the 2025 F1 season.
But Sainz would not achieve the goal that Williams placed on the Canadian GP, as teammate Alex Albon also retired on L46 owing to an engine failure. The 30-year-old could only qualify in P17, before starting in P16 after Yuki Tsunoda’s 10-place grid penalty at the Canadian GP.
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| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
374 |
| 2 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
199 |
| 3 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
183 |
| 4 |
Red Bull Racing |
162 |
| 5 |
Williams F1 Team |
55 |
| 6 |
Haas F1 Team |
28 |
Sainz could put his poor qualifying to one side, having been impeded by Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar in Q1 which resulted in the 20-year-old meriting a three-place grid penalty. But Sainz was ‘frustrated’ in the Canadian GP after Williams told the Spaniard he could not push.
“It was a very frustrating weekend,” Sainz told AS. “I finished more relaxed after Saturday’s frustration. It only happens once a year that you have traffic in qualifying.
“Sometimes it happens. The problem is that you end up on a track where you go so fast because it bothers you to score many points.
“The race was also frustrating because even though we had good pace, as we were able to demonstrate, I couldn’t push throughout the race because of problems with the car.
“Coming to Canada and doing 70 laps of racing without being able to push due to reliability issues, protecting them, leaves you completely frustrated.
“If you tell me that starting 17th I can finish 10th, I’d buy it. But after 70 laps without pushing, and finishing 10th, you’re left wondering what could have been.”
Williams’ reliability fears will raise alarm bells beyond Carlos Sainz’s frustrations
Sainz has now secured points in six of his first 10 Grands Prix for Williams after joining from Ferrari ahead of the season thanks to inheriting P10 in the Canadian GP after Norris retired. But the four-time Grand Prix winner has still not finished any race higher than P8 this term.
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The Madrid native also only has 13 points to sit 13th in the F1 drivers’ championship, while teammate Albon sits eighth with 42 points to his name. Unlike Sainz, the London-born Thai also secured P5 finishes in the Australian, Miami and Emilia Romagna Grands Prix this term.
But the fact that Williams urged Sainz not to push in Sunday’s Canadian GP to protect their car and that Albon retired should raise concerns. The Canadian GP was only the 10th round of the 24 this campaign, and Williams are fully focused on the 2026 F1 regulations already.
