Carlos Sainz faces the immense challenge of his home city’s new Madring circuit this weekend as Williams seek to end an eight-race Formula 1 points drought.
The British team arrive at the inaugural Madrid street-track Spanish Grand Prix sporting a retro 1981 tribute livery. Sainz and teammate Alex Albon have not scored since Monaco eight races ago, leaving Williams ninth in the constructors’ standings on 11 points.
Expecting Chaos At New Madring
The 3.365-mile venue features a highly technical 22-turn layout highlighted by a massive 13.5-degree banking at Turn 12, known as La Monumental. Sainz acted as an ambassador during the design phase to ensure the unique gradient remained safe for the grid.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Sainz predicted extreme disruption across the weekend due to the unforgiving walls.
“Looking at the track and hearing of what happened in the F3 test, I think we are all expecting safety cars, red flags and yellow flags in qualy and things like this,” Sainz said.
The high-risk nature of the circuit means unexpected stand-ins, such as Liam Lawson substituting for Isack Hadjar, face a steep learning curve.
Formula1.com noted that Williams team principal James Vowles remains optimistic about harnessing the team’s visual homage to spark a revival.
“Our mission to get back to the front of the grid is drawn from, inspired by and informed by everything we’ve done before,” Vowles added.
Track action at the new Madrid circuit begins with Friday practice.
