As he settles in to the Williams 'family', Carlos Sainz admits that he is "not surprised" that Lewis Hamilton is finding it hard to acclimatise to his old team.

Both drivers have had teething problems settling in at their new outfits, but, the Shanghai Sprint aside, Hamilton appears to be finding it harder.

"I'm not surprised at all," admitted the Spaniard when asked about the Briton's struggles. "I think for me I expected it to myself and I expected it with him.

"In this sport there's no secrets and when you are up against two teammates like we are, like Alex and Charles, that they know the team inside out, they are already performing at the maximum that their car can perform" added the Spaniard, who not only out-qualified his teammate in Jeddah, but finished ahead of him in the race.

"You can only do just a little bit better or the same as them," he continued. "You cannot suddenly arrive and be two or three tenths quicker because it's not possible. They are already at the limit of the car. So when you jump to a new team and you're expected by yourself and by everyone around you to be at that level, it's going to take time.

"There's no secrets," he insisted. "They know a lot more than you, that it's going to take a bit of time and the sooner you make that process and the sooner you are at that level, the better. But for some drivers it might take longer or shorter.

"Lewis had an amazing weekend in China," he admitted. "He seems to have a bit more trouble now but it's going to take time for both."

As well as new teams, both drivers are having to deal with new power units, and in Hamilton's case engine braking has been an issue since the start of the season.

"For me, this is just one of the things that you have to learn," said Sainz. "Some teams like to use engine braking to turn the car, others prefer using more the differential, others prefer to use the brake migration, others more the set-up of the car naturally, front-end with aero, others with mechanical, others with pitch, others with ride.

"You cannot imagine the amount of variability that you can make the car get to a similar lap time in just completely different ways," he said. "For sure, that might be one of the things, at least one of the 15-20 things that I'm trying to still figure out. I'm trying high engine braking in Williams to see if it works, I'm trying low, I'm trying differential maps, I'm trying mechanical, I'm trying everything every week just to see what the car likes and what it doesn't.

"There's things that suit your style, others that they don't," he added. "I think it's that fight and that process that I enjoy. You're going to get wrong many times, but as long as you enjoy it and you just embrace it, you know you're going to get it wrong a few times, but you're also going to... when you click and you get, 'ah, this works', it's actually a eureka moment that feels good."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 02/05/2025 13:33

"@ Chester. You are quite correct in your analysis. With the seemingly endless quest for even 100th's/1000th's of a sec improvements, there is a need to replace the 'raw natural driver' inputs to satisfy the technical responses and requirements. Watching these drivers in the office is quite enthralling. Not only do they need to service the tech inputs continually but they need to be situationally aware and race...all simultaneously! That takes an abundance of talent far beyond what is normal. Coping with the variability between constructors must be most trying and difficult for some even though the cars are only milliseconds apart in performance. It's how they get there that's the problem. As an example and at its simplest, Just coping with the indicator stalks location between Asian and European road cars is a frustrating experience and one which is extremely difficult to unlearn! I speak from experience [being an octo doesn't help either ]. The days of more simplistic cars and racing have gone and they won't be replaced. We just have do our best to embrace the now and the new and make what we can of it. Bit like my indicator stalks hahaha. I did however solve the problem, i bought another European built car. What a chicken....."

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2. Posted by Chester, 02/05/2025 12:11

"Very interesting- and illuminating. Many of the factors Carlos discusses seem to be related to having a hybrid powerplant- and using technique to get the best out of whatever combination the engineers have prioritized.

In many ways, I don't like this impingement of design (inherent because of hybrid power) on the driver. When Hamilton debuted in the McLaren long ago, these impingements were not present, allowing driving talent to rise to the surface. Now it seems that video-game technique (for lack of a better word) is required in addition to pure driver ability.

I have always thought Vettel had just the right touch for the blown diffuser design employed by the Red Bull/Renault during his 4x championships. When that blown diffuser was gone he struggled vs. Ricciardo- to me very telling that it was not just Vettel's raw ability but his ability to manage the blown diffuser that mattered.

In the end, it seems complex design reduces pure driving ability and elevates ability to manipulate a video game. "

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3. Posted by Wokingchap, 02/05/2025 9:45

"Excellent article, excellent comments here and i totally agree with all."

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4. Posted by Max Noble, 02/05/2025 1:54

"It’s wonderful to read a lengthy, intelligent and non-sensationalist opinion. Great respectful insight. My view of him only continues to improve (it was already high). Let’s hope we see him back on the podium soon! "

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5. Posted by kenji, 02/05/2025 1:21

"An extremely lucid and disciplined approach taken by Carlos. Not sure how many drivers have the expertise to go down the path like him...I wish him all the best in his endeavours. Translating tech into performance is a no easy task especially given the myriad of alternatives available."

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6. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 01/05/2025 22:19

"He gives a fair and reasonable opinion. Much more than those click-bate "journalists" deserve. I also think drivers are at the bottom of the list when it comes to the woes at Ferrari."

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Sainz unsurprised by Hamilton's Ferrari struggle

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