'It's still not good enough' – Sainz critical of Williams performance in Austrian Grand Prix

Carlos Sainz claims Williams's performance in the Austrian Grand Prix was "still not good enough", after the Spaniard was forced to retire from last weekend's race.

A difficult season for Williams continued at the Red Bull Ring, with neither Sainz nor team mate Alex Albon advancing past Q1 on Saturday, leaving the pair in P17 and P18 for Sunday's race.

Sainz's race came to an abrupt end on Lap 23 out of 71, after he lost all power exiting the final corner before bringing his car to a stop along the pit straight.

"We've discovered a few things overnight and a few things [Saturday] before Qualifying that were not quite right in my car and we did a few changes going into the race," said Sainz.

"It suddenly worked a lot better and was much closer to the midfield than yesterday or any point of the weekend. At least having a bit of fun battling it out with the Haas, Alpine and Audis, getting ourselves in the mix. Unfortunately, I think one-third into the race, everything switched off. That was it for us."

Sainz's retirement continues a run of three Grands Prix without a points finish for the Spaniard as Williams continue to struggle for performance.

Ahead of the race in Spielberg, Team Principal James Vowles outlined Williams's upgrade plan for the remainder of 2026, which will begin with a small package this weekend at Silverstone.

When asked how the weekend in Austria had gone, Sainz replied: "To be honest, it's still not good enough.

"What I had today was a car that was closer to Barcelona and the rest of the year where I felt more comfortable with, but at the same time, we've had a run of very poor weekends in these high speed, hot tracks.

"We still need an upgrade which Silverstone will bring. Hopefully it means we start to get a bit more competitive."

Albon managed to reach the chequered flag in P17 but was two laps down and only ahead of Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin, completing a difficult weekend for Williams.

"I think we got lapped by the Racing Bulls today, I think they had an exceptionally good weekend but we've had a poor one," said Albon.

"No pace really, as simple as that. We were expecting more coming into this weekend and it wasn't to be. We have a small package upgrade for next weekend and hopefully that gets us a bit closer to the midfield pack."