Sainz stunned by slump, Norris backs McLaren recovery

Mar.27 (GMM) Carlos Sainz admits he has been left shocked by Williams’ dramatic drop in form at the start of the 2026 season.

Having joined Williams from Ferrari after 2024, the Spaniard had expected progress following a reasonably promising debut year – but instead finds himself fighting at the back of the field.

“Honestly, we have a lot of weight to lose, that’s no secret,” Sainz said at Suzuka. “Would a lighter car be a good one? I think we can do better.

“Weight aside, I think this team has the potential to design and build a much better car than what we’ve done so far.”

The FW48 is currently the heaviest car on the grid, compounded by delays during pre-season development.

Sainz admits the scale of the problem has been a major surprise.

“It has been a shock for me, for the team, very tough,” he said. “I had a feeling it was coming in December and January, but it’s a big setback, probably bigger than I expected.”

Sainz admitted he expects little improvement at Suzuka.

“We were 17th in both qualifying sessions … in no man’s land. I don’t think Suzuka will be any different,” he said. “But more can happen in races.”

Sainz believes the controversial new regulations have actually widened the gap to the front.

“You’d think we’d close the gap with the new rules, but the reality is the opposite – we’re further behind.”

He is now hoping the upcoming April break will allow Williams to recover lost ground, particularly by reducing weight and adding downforce.

Meanwhile at McLaren, reigning world champion Lando Norris is also enduring a difficult start to 2026 – although he remains optimistic about a turnaround.

McLaren’s problems have been even more extreme, with reliability issues preventing both cars from starting in China and teammate Oscar Piastri yet to start a race this season.

“This obviously hurt us as a team, and it didn’t make a good impression that two cars couldn’t start the race,” Norris said.

“We’ve worked hard to understand the background of how and why it happened, and of course we’ll do everything in our power to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.”

Despite the setback, Norris insists confidence remains high.

“I have great confidence in the team and believe we can have the best car this year,” he said. “Our first goal is to get on the podium, and then to win races again.”

Currently 36 points behind championship leader George Russell, Norris admits time is needed to recover.

“There’s progress, but it takes time,” he said. “We needed time to understand what was going on – now we know what went wrong, why, and how we can prevent it.”

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