Loud flop
At Suzuka, as many as three Mercedes-powered cars finished ahead of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull – the Mercedes, the McLaren, and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine – only the Williams is missing from the list. The English team surprised everyone in 2025 by finishing fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, thus proving to be the best of the class except for the four top teams McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes.
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Carlos Sainz in particular achieved two splendid podiums in Azerbaijan and Qatar in the second half of the season. The Spanish driver, having found the door closed for staying at Ferrari in light of Lewis Hamilton’s arrival, decided to bet on Williams, but at the moment the Grove team is the only one not exploiting the quality of the Mercedes power unit.
“Many promises were made to Sainz that are not being kept, his frustration is understandable – said Johnny Herbert reached by Vision4Sport – Williams was doing very well and such a collapse is surprising, also because gross mistakes were made. The car is overweight, and by quite a bit. This is a fundamental aspect for the car’s performance, but it is also a key element of the mindset of the people who were not able to create a car close enough to that weight limit. Sainz is at a point in his career where he does not see a positive direction, he is a driver who, if you give him the car, he always does his duty.”
