Sainz feels vindicated by Williams choice after Australia qualifying
MELBOURNE, March 15 (Reuters) - Discarded by Ferrari, Carlos Sainz said he felt vindicated for joining Williams after both he and teammate Alex Albon qualified in the top 10 on Saturday for the Australian Grand Prix.
The highly regarded Spaniard, who made way for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, will start 10th in Sunday's race, four slots behind Albon at Albert Park.
Williams finished ninth in the constructors' championship last year but hope to be the best of the mid-field teams after showing improved performance during pre-season testing.
Sainz, who won two races with Ferrari last year, chose Williams over last-placed Sauber despite that team becoming the Audi factory outfit in 2026.
"Very happy, very proud of the whole team, the way we've managed to progress through the winter and put together a car that is allowing us to be in Q3 for the first time in many years with both cars. I think it's great," the 30-year-old said.
"And it can only get better because I have so much more potential to unlock as soon as I understand how to extract lap time in Q3.
"I was pretty strong in testing on the weekend, but clearly when it came to Q3, I didn't know where to find the lap time, and I did a few mistakes, and now I need to build that for me."
Asked whether Williams' first race weekend of the season had vindicated his decision to join the faded former champions, he said: "Yeah, definitely.
"Might be how it's meant to be, and now it's a matter of working hard because I see a lot of potential in this team."
Albon wrecked his car in practice at last year's race at Albert Park and ended up driving ex-teammate Logan Sargeant's in qualifying and on race-day because the team brought only one chassis to Melbourne.
He finished 11th and missed out on points.
"We were fighting for points in previous years but .... this year it feels like we should be able to score points in every race," the England-born Thai said on Saturday.
"It will be a dogfight between RB (Racing Bulls), Alpine. I think every weekend is going to be split by a tenth (of a second) and that's it. It's motivating for all of us."
Noting rain forecast for Sunday, Albon was bracing for tricky conditions, particularly for the six racers at Albert Park starting a season for the first time.
"No-one's driven on the inters (intermediate tyres) or the wets. Good luck to the rookies," he said.
"Let's see, anything can happen. I'm hoping for a fairly a safe race but there is going to be carnage for sure."
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