Carlos Sainz delivered a strong F1 Las Vegas GP performance, finishing P7 before both McLaren cars were disqualified. Sainz has now moved up to P5, securing 10 points for Williams. While Sainz showed strong pace throughout, Williams opted for conservative pit-stop strategy rather than fighting harder with the faster cars. His teammate, Alex Albon retired on lap 37 after brief contact with Lewis Hamilton, leaving Sainz as Williams’ sole point-scorer.
Strategy secures maximum points
Following the F1 Las Vegas GP, Sainz expressed satisfaction with the team’s approach despite some caution around pit timing. He was undercut by Oscar Piastri, and got overcut by Charles Leclerc.
He stated, “Yeah, I think we need to be happy it’s the the maximum that we could do today. Maybe a bit conservative around the pit stops with with the undercuts of Piastri and Leclerc that maybe we could have fought a bit harder with the timing of the pit stop to to see we could keep them behind.“
The team chose not to challenge the faster cars through aggressive undercuts during Sainz’s F1 Las Vegas GP. Williams instead focused on maintaining their advantage over the midfield rather than risking a better result.
In the end he finished up 10s clear of Isack Hadjar.
“But I think we played the safe game today to try and finish ahead of the midfield get the six points, and, yeah, bring home a solid result, 10 seconds ahead in front of the other midfield cars.”
The margin to the rest of the midfield proved Williams’ superior pace to them at the Las Vegas street circuit. Sainz comfortably held position throughout the race without significant pressure from behind: “So, we’re clearly fastest to the other midfield, but the top six cars were just too weak for us.”
Clean weekend delivers long-awaited result
When asked about the satisfaction of executing a trouble-free weekend, Sainz reflected on recent races where similar results slipped away. Speaking in the TV pen before learning of his promotion to P5, Sainz’s F1 Las Vegas GP P7 on track matched performances he believes he should have achieved in past rounds. “Yeah, P7 is what I should have finished in Austin, what I should have finished in Mexico without the penalty,” Sainz stated.
The second half of the 2025 F1 season has seen Williams demonstrate consistent competitiveness. Sainz acknowledged the pace has been present even when circumstances prevented them from converting it into results: “So yeah, I think the second half of the season we have tons of pace obviously we sometimes, I do a mistake, or sometimes the team does a mistake, or sometimes we’re simply unlucky.“
Despite setbacks from recent rounds, Sainz emphasized the underlying speed the team has shown. Sainz’s Las Vegas GP result vindicated the team’s development direction and proved their potential: “But the important thing that the pace is there and we are showing it in this second half and we are very competitive.”
Sainz’s Las Vegas GP delivered the clean execution Williams needed after recent disappointments. The team heads to Qatar aiming to maintain their competitive form through the F1 season finale.
