It took some time, but Carlos Sainz’s move to Williams is starting to pay off.

The former Ferrari driver collected his second podium finish since the summer break by finishing third at last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix. What could he and Williams achieve under the new regulations – and with the new Mercedes engine – in F1 2026?

Carlos Sainz and Williams are proving to be a good match

A version of this article originally appeared in PlanetF1.com’s conclusions from the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix

The exciting thing for Carlos Sainz and Williams is that this was meant to be the difficult season.

This year was meant to be all about getting up to speed, developing an understanding of how each other works and building up gradually towards 2026.

Scoring points when possible, yes, but mainly looking ahead to next season, the opportunity presented by the new rules and finally getting their hands on what is expected to be a prized Mercedes power unit.

Carlos Sainz vs Alex Albon: Williams head-to-head scores for F1 2025

???? F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

???? F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Such has been Williams’ all-encompassing focus on 2026 that it was among the first teams to confirm publicly that it had ended the development of its current car back in the spring.

So it is a great credit to the growing strength of the team now that it will end 2025 in fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship, its highest placing in eight years.

It does not seem like too long ago that Sainz and Williams had a touch of the Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari – a partnership not yet clicking and struggling for lift off – about it.

Ever since the first podium arrived in Baku, finally giving Sainz something to cling on to after a difficult first half of the season, they have increasingly looked a good match.

More on Carlos Sainz and Williams from PlanetF1.com

???? Carlos Sainz news

???? Williams news

As Sainz noted after qualifying third in Las Vegas a week ago, team and driver make for a great pair of underdogs.

Carlos was never valued as highly by some of his previous employers as he might have been and Williams has been written off more times over the last two decades than those at Grove will care to remember.

It is common for teams locked in tight battles at the end of the season to treat the final few races as a dress rehearsal for the following year, setting standards that will serve them well when bigger prizes are on offer in the future.

That Sainz and Williams have so quickly developed a habit of seizing these opportunistic results in late 2025 bodes very well for next season.

Read next: Winners and losers from the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix