Sainz fed up with consecutive setbacks ‘out of our control’

Carlos Sainz is reaching breaking point after another setback out of his control – a collision with his former Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc – destroyed his hopes of a top ten finish in the British Grand Prix.

The Williams driver was running solidly in the points on Sunday, battling Leclerc for eighth in the final stint of the race, when the Ferrari driver lost control at Stowe corner on slick tyres. The momentary lapse dragged Sainz wide and dropped him out of the top 10, eventually finishing 12th with a damaged front wing and floor.

It was another bitter blow for Sainz, who has shown glimpses of competitive form since joining Williams but has consistently been let down by unforeseen circumstances.

“Going well,” a sarcastic Sainz told reporters after the race. “Like the whole year so far, we were doing everything right, good strategy goals, good driving.

“[I was] P7-P8 at the time, 10 laps to go when I was fighting with Charles. I think he was on his outlap on the slicks. He lost control of the car and crashed into me and that was it. That was it.

“I went back to P12 with a damaged car and I finished P12. Again, very unlucky. A bit fed up with this situation where something happens to us that is out of our control.”

Sainz stopped short of blaming Leclerc directly for the clash, but the exasperation was written all over his post-race demeanor.

“No offence to Charles, this always can happen to any driver, but I’m just upset with the fact that it happened to me today again when we were about to have a clean weekend and a clean race,” he added.

Setbacks Piling Up

The disappointment at Silverstone follows another non-score in Austria, where Sainz failed to even take the start due to last-minute brake issues on the grid.

It's a pattern that’s becoming all too familiar for the 30-year-old in his first season with Williams – a year that began with promise but has been steadily undermined by poor luck and technical gremlins.

• Read also: F1i Driver Ratings for the 2025 British GP

Sainz sits just 15th in the drivers’ standings with 13 points, while his Williams teammate Alex Albon has racked up 46 and cemented his position in eighth after another strong run at Silverstone.

The contrast in fortunes is stark – and unfortunately wearing thin for a driver who left Ferrari with high expectations of proving himself elsewhere.

“Honestly, this is so frustrating to have so many things out of your control in a row,” Sainz rued.

“I cannot explain to you how you feel as an athlete when you keep going to a simulator, doing all your marketing events, putting on a happy face, doing all your free practice, doing everything you can to score a good result.

“In the race you take your risks, you do everything right [with] strategy calls and then something like this out of your control happens and you're out.

“Now we need to wait another two weeks to go racing, but it gets to a point where it's just extremely frustrating and depressing.”

With the season approaching its halfway mark and the summer break looming, Sainz will be determined to shake off in Spa-Francorchamps the setbacks and deliver the results he knows he’s capable of achieving.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook