Sainz: “When I was 10 years old I would never have imagined competing in F1 in a race in Madrid”

Full of illusion. Like a child on Three Kings Day. This is Carlos Sainz, pilot of Williamsbefore facing one of the most exciting weekends of his career, the Spanish F1 GP in Madrid. Carlos He runs at home, more than ever, in the city where he was born and grew up, the one he carries in his heart. A dream come true.

And for this reason, the Madrid native, after taking a real crowd bath on Wednesday afternoon, in front of his fans, presenting a special decoration of his Williams full of white, the driver arrives at his home event with the intention of trying to qualify for some points that seem difficult.

“You can imagine how happy I am, at the first F1 GP in Madrid in many years. Yesterday, seeing so many fans and so many people so involved and excited about this Grand Prix the only thing it does is give me energy and I can’t wait for it to start,” expressed the Madrid pilot in an event of Star Galicia 0.0 held on the upper terrace of the mythical Callao Cinemasright in front of the Williams Fan Zone, located in the heart of Callao Square.

“The differential point will generally be the intensity of the lap. From what I have been able to see in the simulator and some videos of the F3 test, it seems to me to be a very intense circuit, curve, countercurve, wall, counterwall, it is going to be very intense for the driver. It is a mix between Jeddah and Monaco. I’m looking forward to trying it out and putting my chances in the classifications,” said Carlos Sainz about a circuit that all the drivers consider to be a challenge. Especially after seeing that there were 19 red flags in the recent two days of testing. FIA Formula 3. It is a track that leaves no room for errors and there is a very high probability of accidents, with situations of red flags, yellow flags and safety cars that turn qualifying and the race into chaos.

“We have to see how the tires react in La Monumental, with so much banking and G force”highlighted Carlos, confident that as the sessions go by, the dirt on the track will improve and the grip will become better and better with the accumulation of rubber from all the sessions.

In this layout, the Madring, Carlos will seek to be able to fish in troubled rivers at the wheel of a car that will improve in the next race with the evolution that is expected for Baku.

You will not have those parts in Madrid at the wheel of a car that was born late, with little aerodynamic load and excess weight. With these weapons, with a car a priori far from the points, Carlos dreams of surprising and achieving some prize in front of his fans in a very different F1 with the change in regulations, based on an engine with 50% electric energy and an ‘overtaking mode’ with extra energy that could precisely allow the drivers to overtake on a very twisty, fast and between walls track.

What can you aspire to?

“This GP comes at a strange time for Williams because in a race a package of improvements arrives that will greatly improve our current situation. Even scoring points is very complicated, we are far from the points. But from Baku onwards, scoring will be an option and we will go to the subsequent races with the aim of achieving some point.. It’s not that I’m very excited about this evolution either, I think we have to focus on working on the 2027 car and that allows us to fight for some request and return to where we were last year and that catapults us. “We have to solve this year’s problems.”

“From last year’s F1 to this year’s there is a big difference in everything. But it is an F1 that fans do not dislike. In fact the last few races have been fun. We drivers are not convinced about pressing a button and passing over another car, but we are getting used to it. and at least a couple of changes are made in 2027 and 2028 it can become a very fun F1. And I hope that both Williams and Aston Martin take a step forward that brings us closer to those at the top,” commented Carlos.

This weekend, the man from Madrid will have a car full of white, a special color for Carlos as he is a Madrid fan. He will also wear a helmet in which that color predominates in honor of the first helmet he used when he was taking his first steps in karting, when he was a kid who dreamed of reaching F1. But he acknowledged that he could not imagine that he would win races and that he would one day compete in Madrid. That third box will be checked this weekend.

“For my first home race in Madrid I wanted to wear something that reminded me of my origins”he said about his helmet.

“When I was 10 years old I would never have imagined competing in F1 and in a race in Madrid. When you are 10 years old you only think that you have some idols, Alonso, Schumacher, and you want to be like them. but if you tell that boy not to worry, that he was going to race for Toro Rosso, McLaren, Renault, Ferrari and Williams, that he was going to win races and that he was going to race a GP in Madrid… all of those are milestones that I never considered. I only dreamed of to be an F1 driver. And when I look back, to 2005, that in those 22 years all these things have happened is something unthinkable and that is why I feel so privileged and proud of the sporting career that I have had so far.”

“Madrid is an expert in this type of events and the city does everything possible to ensure that everything goes well. Yesterday everything surprised me. How could there be so many people? And it was Tuesday. Imagine how this weekend is going to be. Delighted to see the city dedicated to this Grand Prix.

Better future with Williams

“The goal of the team and myself is to return this car to the top of F1. We are clear that we want to be one of the 3 best teams in F1 and fight for a World Cup. It is true that there is work to do, more than we expected. Because this year we have realized that there are many more weak points in the team to improve compared to what we thought there were last year. But it can be done. It is key to take an important step in quality in 2027 and that is what may lead you to think that can be won again in the future.

Antonelli’s comeback in Monza

“Verstappen was coming back and now not, why? because there is no car. Hamilton now can’t make those comebacks, why? because there is no car. The driver depends on the machinery that allows him to show off and Kimi Antonelli is taking advantage of that car that allows him to show off and he is doing it very well.”