Sainz hails first Williams podium on merit after landmark result
- Kavi Khandelwal
- Sep 21
- 2 min read
Written by Kavi Khandelwal
Carlos Sainz declared his first podium for Williams was earned on merit and proved the team is on the right path after a landmark result in the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Spaniard's third-place finish marked a historic moment for Williams. The last podium achieved by the team was at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix by Lance Stroll.The achievement was also the first for the team under the leadership of Team Principal James Vowles.
After a difficult run of races, Sainz expressed his pride in maintaining self-belief, stating that he refused to take a cautious approach despite recent misfortune.
He said: "It would have been very easy after the bad run of races to take a cautious approach, to think that something could go wrong today, but in the end, if you keep believing in yourself, in your team, and in everyone around you, and you do things like you know how to do them, when the time comes, the time comes, and you put it together."
The result served as vindication for both driver and team, who Sainz felt had shown strong pace all season without the corresponding results.
"I think we both feel like we've got a bit hard done by the start of the year," Sainz explained. "We were always getting a bit hard done in the races, and we were not getting the results. We both felt, both the team and I, that we were in the right trajectory, and that it was just a matter of time before things stopped happening to us."
Sainz was adamant that the podium was a true reflection of the car's performance and not a result of luck, a point he was keen to emphasise.
"The first podium with Williams, probably the first podium also on Merit, because I think today we were just quick, and no one could overtake us apart from George."
He concluded: "Just proved that we were right, we were on the right trajectory, and we just needed to put a weekend together to prove to everyone how competitive we are."
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