Carlos Sainz Left Speechless with Maiden Williams Podium Before Lewis Hamilton at Azerbaijan GP

Carlos Sainz achieved a podium finish with Williams at Azerbaijan GP even before Lewis Hamilton could with Ferrari in the 2025 season.

Carlos Sainz Left Speechless with Maiden Williams Podium Before Lewis Hamilton at Azerbaijan GP

Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton (via XPBimages)

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Carlos Sainz had endured a difficult start to the season with Williams in 2025 after being snubbed, unexpectedly, from Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season to make way for Lewis Hamilton. The Spaniard was performing great at Maranello and hoped to carry on his positive momentum at the Grove-based constructor. However, Sainz turned his woeful season around at the Azerbaijan GP and achieved a shock podium finish.

After deeming Williams the right place to nurture his dream to succeed in Formula 1, Carlos Sainz was unable to perform well in the first 16 rounds. Alex Albon remained the majority points scorer, with Sainz failing to make it into the top 10 on multiple occasions. However, a wreck-filled Azerbaijan GP Qualifying helped the Spaniard achieve a front-row start for the Baku race, and it was smooth sailing from then on.

Carlos Sainz did lose a place to George Russell down the race, but he managed his pace well and ultimately brought home the first podium for Williams in a very long time. Notably, Russell was the latest podium finisher for Grove, with Sainz joining him on the podium in the 2025 season. Now, the 31-year-old opened up on his feelings after achieving such a great finish with the team.

Speaking on the P3 finish, Carlos Sainz emphasized that he couldn’t describe his happiness in words. Sainz reflected that he and the team had been fighting very hard all year and proved their speed and capabilities at the Azerbaijan GP. The Spaniard continued that if Grove managed to bring everything together on every race weekend, they could do some amazing things in the pinnacle of motorsport and make such positive results a routine habit.

Honestly, I cannot describe how happy I am, how good this feels. We have been fighting hard all year and today we proved when we have the speed, and everything comes together, we can do some amazing things.

Carlos Sainz said in a post-race interview

Carlos Sainz extremely ‘proud’ of Williams

After achieving a P3 finish and walking out of the weekend gaining 15 points in the standings, Carlos Sainz is now P15 in the pecking order with a total of 31 points. These numbers are insignificant compared to Alex Albon’s 70 points, as he seems to be taking a lot of the heavy load. Still, Sainz achieved the podium finish earlier than Albon at the Grove-based constructor. As such, the Spaniard is overjoyed and proud of the team effort in Baku.

Carlos Sainz (via XPBimages)
Carlos Sainz (via XPBimages)

Carlos Sainz insisted that he was extremely proud of the entire crew at Williams that helped him maximize his results on Sunday. He acknowledged that the team was going in the right direction and was looking promising for improving results now. Sainz accepted that they had a lot of incidents until now, but it was crucial to make the first podium finish all the more special for him.

I’m extremely proud of everyone at Williams. We are the rise, we are [going] in the right direction. We have had a lot of incidents, and now I understand why it had to happen to give me this podium like this.

Carlos Sainz added

Certainly, Sainz will hope to achieve many more such results in the remaining races of the 2025 season. After the culmination of the Azerbaijan GP, only seven races remain. Time will tell if the Spaniard manages to keep scoring podium finishes a habit in the final half of the season. For now, the 31-year-old will soak in his impressive finish to the fullest and return to the next race on a high.

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