Carlos Sainz outlines his target for the race after F1 Mexican GP qualifying session  

Carlos Sainz believes Williams lacks the pace to fight for a top-five finish in Mexico after a grid penalty dropped him to 12th place. Speaking to media, including Sportskeeda, after qualifying, the Spaniard said that recovering to seventh or eighth would be a realistic target.

Sainz qualified seventh, one of his best sessions of the season, but carries a three-place grid penalty from the USGP for an aggressive move against Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli while battling for seventh. The Williams driver also received two penalty points on his license for the incident.

Asked whether a top-five finish was possible, Carlos Sainz admitted that even from seventh, the car’s pace would have limited him to seventh or eighth at best. Starting from the 12th, he expects a tough midfield battle and aims to fight his way back into the top eight. He added that cooling management would play a crucial role in tire performance and overtaking opportunities.

The former Mexican GP winner remains cautiously optimistic about his chances but realistic about the challenges Williams face in Sunday’s race. Asked by Sportskeeda what he expected from the race pace and if a top five finish was on the cards, Carlos Sainz said:

“No, no, no. I think starting P7 with Oscar behind, the maximum we would achieve is a P7 or a P8. Now starting 12th tomorrow, the target is to get to that top 8. Honestly, it's a big ask because it's not like the Haas and the SRBs are slow at all. I don't think we are more than a tenth or two quicker than them in race pace. You need a six tenths of tire delta and pace delta here to pass. How do we get to a point where I can overtake a midfield car is a tricky bit, also considering how tricky the cooling is. It's not going to be easy to get to the points, but I just want to be optimistic and believe that we can do it.”

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Carlos Sainz believes track evolution played a big role in the final session of qualifying in Mexico

Carlos Sainz believes track evolution played a major role in the Q3 session of qualifying. The Williams driver felt that a single lap was enough to comfortably progress through Q1 and Q2 and that the car showed strong one-lap pace. However, he admitted that the team could have taken more risks by saving an extra set of tires for the final shootout.

Despite that, the improving track conditions helped Sainz secure his place in Q3 using only one set of tires. Asked by Sportskeeda if track evolution played a significant role in his qualifying result, Carlos Sainz said:

“Yeah, especially in Q3, and only having one set in Q3 maybe limited me to not being able to beat maybe a Mercedes. But to be honest, we would have gone through in Q1 and Q2 with a single lap, so it shows that we have a lot of pace today. Maybe for the future, saving that set, being a bit more brave to save a set for Q3 might give us a position or two. Very happy, very proud of the team because we're making huge progress through the year. Even if the pace wasn’t there at the beginning, now putting things together just shows what we can do.”

Carlos Sainz, last year’s Mexican GP winner, managed to break into the top 10 once again in 2025. However, the penalty carried over from the USGP weekend has put him on the back foot for Sunday’s race. Despite that, the Mexican circuit has traditionally favored experienced drivers, with its high altitude testing cooling systems and tire performance, both crucial to achieving a strong result. As it stands, the former Ferrari driver sits 11th in the Drivers’ Championship with 38 points, while Williams lead the midfield battle in fifth place with a total of 111 points.