Carlos Sainz finished Saturday’s qualifying session in sixth position at the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP, five places ahead of his teammate Alex Albon, in 11th.
Their time in Jeddah has been going smoothly for Williams so far, capitalising after a positive weekend in Bahrain last week.
Sainz and Albon both finished in the top 10 for all three practice sessions, both proving they had strong pace coming into qualifying under the lights in Jeddah.
Sainz made it comfortably through Q1 and Q2, finishing in eighth position on both laps. The Spaniard put down a 1.28.164 on his final run in Q3, putting him into sixth position after the chequered flag flew at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
He commented after the session on the strong pace and progress Williams has made in the first five race weekends of the season.
“Happy and proud with the progress that we’re making with the direction we’re following, as you said, 2nd weekend in a row that we must be quite close to the limit of the car. So yeah, let’s keep going in that direction, keep following the same philosophy one step at a time, and it will come as it’s coming because between the two of you, you saw the top 10,” Sainz said.
He further commented on the confidence needed to be quick around the Jeddah circuit.
“This is a very confidence-driven circuit, you know; you need a lot of confidence to fasten the car around the walls, you know, at the speeds that we’re going, and you need a fast car, and I feel like definitely this weekend, we are a step closer to being comfortable, given that it’s a very high-confidence track I’ve been competitive.”
“Shows the progress and the direction we’re going,” Sainz further commented.
Opportunities in the race for Sainz at Saudi Arabian GP?
With the unpredictability of the Jeddah circuit and a 100% safety car record, anything can happen in the race on Sunday night.
However, Sainz commented on the difference in “race pace between the top cars and midfield, [and] the top cars managed to overheat the tires a lot less than the midfield.”
Sainz also agreed that this race requires patience and that it’s “great” that it does.
He said, “Just one step away from the wall, you know, but yeah, definitely I enjoyed pushing the limits of the car in such a demanding truck, getting myself comfortable around these walls at these speeds we’re going with a car that still feels not very familiar to me. But yeah, I discovered lots of new things, and tomorrow I hope to do the same, put together a solid race, and bring home the first big haul of points for Williams from my side. That is the target.”
Sainz’s strong weekend for the second time in a row comes from the comfort he feels within the Williams team. He said, “Going in the right direction with the setup and driving, still having to think a lot, but definitely feeling more at home and more comfortable with things.”
