The Hungarian GP was bitterly disappointing for Williams, with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon finishing the race in 18th and 19th respectively.
In isolation, this is obviously a very poor result. However, when considering that Aston Martin showed far more pace than Williams after their first updates of 2026, the British team’s pace is even more worrying.
After all, Aston’s upgrade package (which will be reinforced with more chassis and engine updates after the summer break) means that Williams are effectively F1’s slowest team after Cadillac.
Despite this, the Grove-based team are dominating headlines post-race, owing to the incident between Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri.
In addition to the collision itself, Sainz’s comments in the aftermath have only made this saga even more hotly discussed.
Sainz on Piastri Hungary clash: “It’s racing”
As previously reported on LWOS, Oscar Piastri’s Sunday afternoon in Hungary was a challenging one even before he made contact with Carlos Sainz.
However, prior to that incident, the Australian was still in the net race lead.
This meant that Piastri responded in unusually strong terms when he made contact with Sainz and lost crucial time to teammate Lando Norris.
It is not unusual for backmarkers to occasionally frustrate leaders when they are being lapped. Still, the anger or irritation of front-runners is usually limited to a car taking longer than it should to give way.
In this instance, Piastri was tapped by an unaware Sainz – which cost him crucial seconds in the battle for victory.
Speaking to Viaplay post-race, Sainz did not entertain suggestions he should speak with the Australian after the incident:
“Sorry for his race, but I don’t need to talk. It’s racing.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, these comments – however brief – have triggered plenty of scrutiny in the hours since the chequered flag.
In quotes released on social media and his website, Sainz elaborated on his afternoon in Budapest – including his moment with Piastri:
“I had a strong race, but there was an issue with the blue flags’ system.
“Oscar appeared in my blind spot when I was battling with Fernando, and we made contact.
“Then I lost ground from the penalty and the double-stack during the Virtual Safety Car. Lots of work to do, we’ll come back stronger.”
Given the consequential nature of his tangle with the McLaren driver, Sainz’s post-race declarations have become central in the F1 media cycle over the last few hours.
An underwhelming first half of 2026 for Williams
When it was announced that Lewis Hamilton would replace Carlos Sainz for the 2025 season, the consensus was that the Spaniard would find it challenging to find a seat at the front of the field.
Despite this, it was still a surprise when he confirmed the signing of a multi-year deal with Williams in the summer of 2024. At the time, many questioned his decision – particularly since he turned down quite public interest from Audi, who are a manufacturer team.
For much of last season, Sainz enjoyed a competitive Williams that silenced some of these initial doubts. The Spaniard even managed to reach the podium in his first campaign with the British outfit.
However, the 2026 regulations were always going to be the true test for how competitive Williams could be for the foresseable future. In this sense, the last six months have been very disappointing.
From delays in preparation for pre-season testing to relatively disappointing mid-season updates, the summer break will be a time for both Sainz and his team to reflect on a disappointing start to this new era of Formula 1.
