If you’d told me, back in the dark days of Williams’ 2020s wilderness, that I’d be writing about a Williams driver on the podium in 2025, I’d have asked if you’d been sampling the local Azerbaijani spirits. Yet here we are, on a September evening in Baku, and the name on everyone’s lips is Carlos Sainz. Not Verstappen, not Norris, not even the ever-quotable Hamilton. Sainz. Williams. Podium. And, as voted by the fans, your Driver of the Day.
- Baku: Where the Walls Have Memories
- The Anatomy of a Comeback: Williams’ Long Road
- Sainz: The Smooth Operator’s Finest Hour
- The Race: Chaos, Carnage, and Calm in the Eye of the Storm
- The Standings: A Podium to Remember
- Driver of the Day: The People Have Spoken
- Historical Echoes: When the Underdog Roars
- The Sainz Effect: What Next for Williams?
- Waste a Bit More Time
Let’s not mince words: this was not just a good drive. This was a resurrection, a statement, and a reminder that Formula 1’s heart still beats strongest when the underdog bites back. So, pour yourself a glass of something strong, and let’s relive the day Williams remembered how to dream.
Baku: Where the Walls Have Memories
The Baku City Circuit is a place where reputations are made, and more often, unmade. It’s a street track that punishes the arrogant and rewards the patient. In 2017, a teenage Lance Stroll dragged a Williams onto the podium here, a result that felt like a fluke at the time. Since then, Williams have been more likely to feature in the stewards’ reports than the highlights reel.
But today, the ghosts of Baku’s past watched as Carlos Sainz, in his first season with Williams, delivered a drive that was anything but accidental. Qualifying second was impressive; converting that into a measured, mature P3 finish was the stuff of legend—especially on a day when so many others found the walls or their own limits.
He’s not always had the best of luck in his first season with Williams, but in Baku that was all forgotten as Carlos Sainz scored his maiden podium for his new team. The Spaniard followed up a superb P2 Qualifying lap in Baku with a mature, measured drive to P3 around the unforgiving streets of Azerbaijan. Vamos indeed!
— Formula1.com
The Anatomy of a Comeback: Williams’ Long Road
To appreciate the magnitude of this result, you need to understand the depths from which Williams have climbed. Since their last podium in 2017—ironically, also in Baku—this once-great team has been a byword for struggle. No podiums from 2018 through 2024. A revolving door of drivers, sponsors, and technical directors. The only thing consistent was the pain.
| Year(s) | Podiums (Notable Drivers) |
|---|---|
| 2000–2004 | Regular podiums (R. Schumacher, Montoya) |
| 2005 | 5 (Heidfeld, Webber) |
| 2006–2008 | 0 |
| 2009 | 1 (Rosberg) |
| 2010–2011 | 0 |
| 2012 | 1 (Maldonado, win in Spain) |
| 2013 | 0 |
| 2014–2015 | Multiple (Bottas, Massa) |
| 2016 | 1 (Bottas) |
| 2017 | 1 (Stroll, Azerbaijan) |
| 2018–2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 1 (Sainz, Azerbaijan) |
For Williams, this podium is more than a trophy. It’s a lifeline. It’s proof that, with the right driver and a bit of luck, the old magic can still flicker to life.
Sainz: The Smooth Operator’s Finest Hour
Carlos Sainz has always been a driver’s driver—respected in the paddock, occasionally overlooked by the wider world. Four career wins, 27 podiums, and a reputation for wringing the neck of whatever machinery he’s given. But after leaving Ferrari, many wondered if Williams would be his swan song or his second act.
Today, Sainz answered that question emphatically. He qualified second, splitting the Red Bulls and Mercedes, and then drove a race of rare composure. While others—Oscar Piastri, take a bow—found the barriers, Sainz kept it clean, kept it fast, and kept Williams in the conversation.
It’s what I’ve been looking for since the beginning of the season, just to nail a perfect weekend,
— Carlos Sainz, post-race interview (The Race)
He may not have had the pace to challenge Verstappen or Russell in the closing stages, but that’s beside the point. This was about execution, not miracles. And for once, the F1 gods smiled on Grove.
The Race: Chaos, Carnage, and Calm in the Eye of the Storm
Let’s not pretend this was a straightforward Grand Prix. The Baku walls claimed their usual victims, most notably championship leader Oscar Piastri, who crashed out on the opening lap and handed a lifeline to his rivals. Lando Norris, stuck in traffic and hampered by a slow pit stop, could only manage seventh. Verstappen, meanwhile, was in a race of his own, cruising to a dominant win.
But while the headlines will scream about Verstappen’s resurgence and Piastri’s blunder, the real story was happening in the blue and white of Williams. Sainz’s drive was a masterclass in risk management—fast enough to keep the wolves at bay, cautious enough to avoid the fate that befell so many others.
In a weekend where many failed to keep it out of the wall, this man proved to be a very smooth operator…
— Formula1.com
The Standings: A Podium to Remember
Here’s how the top ten finished in Baku:
| Position | Driver | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Dominant, lights-to-flag win |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | Gritty drive, overcame illness |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | First Williams podium since 2017 |
| 4 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | Rookie impresses again |
| 5 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | |
| 6 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | |
| 9 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | |
| 10 | Isac Hadjar | Racing Bulls |
For Williams, it’s their first podium since George Russell’s rain-soaked heroics at Spa in 2021, and their first on merit since Stroll’s Baku miracle in 2017.
Driver of the Day: The People Have Spoken
The fans, never shy about rewarding a feel-good story, gave Sainz 28.6% of the vote—comfortably ahead of Verstappen (18.5%) and Russell (8.3%). It’s a reminder that, for all the talk of data and strategy, Formula 1 is still about emotion. About hope. About the belief that, just sometimes, the impossible can happen.
Lots of drivers were quick to send their congratulations to Carlos Sainz, including his former Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc. His latest race buddy Alex Albon was also at the podium presentation to cheer on the Spaniard, who has had a difficult start to life in his new surroundings. This is also Williams’ first time on the podium since George Russell’s second place at the rain-delayed Belgian Grand Prix in 2021.
— BBC Sport
Historical Echoes: When the Underdog Roars
Sainz’s Baku drive will be remembered alongside some of Formula 1’s great underdog stories. Think Jean Alesi’s Tyrrell in Phoenix, 1990. Olivier Panis in Monaco, 1996. Sebastian Vettel’s wet-weather masterclass for Toro Rosso at Monza, 2008. Or, more recently, Pierre Gasly’s shock win for AlphaTauri at Monza in 2020.
These are the days that remind us why we watch. Not for the inevitability of a Verstappen victory, but for the moments when the script is torn up and the sport’s soul is laid bare.
The Sainz Effect: What Next for Williams?
Let’s not get carried away—one swallow does not make a summer, and one podium does not make Williams a title contender. But this result is a shot in the arm for a team that has spent too long in the shadows. It’s a validation of their decision to sign Sainz, a driver who brings not just speed, but leadership and belief.
For Sainz, it’s a reminder that his story is far from over. Four career wins, now 27 podiums, and a place in the hearts of fans who love a fighter. He’s joined a select group of drivers—think Prost, Mansell, Hill—who have taken multiple teams to the podium. And he’s done it the hard way.
Waste a Bit More Time
If you’re not yet tired of reliving the magic, here are some links to keep you occupied:
- Driver of the Day: Sainz gets your Baku vote for superb Williams podium (Formula1.com)
- Winners and losers from F1’s 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix (The Race)
- Recap and reaction as Verstappen wins Azerbaijan GP (BBC Sport)
- Your Driver of the Day for the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix … (Facebook)
