Carlos Sainz rounded off his first F1 season as driver for Williams with a P13 in the F1 Abu Dhabi GP. It was an unfortunate point-less end to a spectacular season, during which the former Ferrari driver had managed to score two rather impressive podiums for the British team.
Neither Williams driver managed to score points on the final race weekend of the 2025 year. Regardless, Sainz was not too fazed by his result in the F1 Abu Dhabi GP.
Stuck in a DRS train
The Spaniard admitted he didn’t have very high expectations following his Q2 exit during Qualifying, especially when taking into account the specifics of the Yas Marina circuit. His day was also hindered by tyre management difficulties. In fact, the entire grid split between the strategical choice of one or two stops, with Sainz employing the former.
Unfortunately, pitting only once allowed drivers on fresher compounds compared to him to improve their final position, with Stroll, Bortoleto and Hulkenberg overtaking him in the battle for the final point-awarding position.
Nevertheless, Sainz was not disappointed with his final result, as he commented after the end of the race:
“Yeah, I think we’ve just haven’t been very strong all weekend. And with a normal race with nothing happening, starting P12 with Lewis and Antonelli behind, it looked always like it was going to be more like P13, P14.”
While it was a career-decisive day for other drivers on the grid, as his former McLaren teammate Lando Norris became a first time Formula 1 champion, it was not as emotional or entertaining for the 31-year-old.
“I think it was only Lewis that caught us in P8. But yeah, stuck in a one-stop train. There was nothing exciting happening today. So for us that we were the 12th fastest car, that’s more or less where we were going to finish.“
A brief off-season for Sainz will be in order after the F1 Abu Dhabi GP
The length of this top tier single seaters championship has been increasing more and more over the span of the years, with Sainz ‘s F1 Abu Dhabi GP performance delivered on December 7th. The implementation of the new generation of challengers will also require more from all teams and parties involved, with the first private testing sessions set to take place in January already.
Asked on whether he will manage to recover in the off-season, the Williams driver was not sure. In fact, Sainz believes everyone would need more off-time before the beginning of preparatives for 2026, however reckons that all the grid is and will be in the same position as him.
“I think we’re going to get a couple of weeks off. It’s not enough probably for what the body and the mind needs. But I think it’s the same for everyone. I’m going to maximise it to try and come back next year stronger than this one.”
