Carlos Sainz’s Underrated Record at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Perhaps there’s some relevance in remembering the fact that right up to the start of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix of 2025, the focus had been on two drivers in particular. Heading into the fast-paced and action-packed weekend, it was Lando Norris who was on top of the driver’s standings with 299 points, 44 more than the next man and his main rival at that time – Max Verstappen. 

Although both drivers would have certainly thought about Leclerc’s sensational pole record here, the Monegasque’s 1:40:203 set back in 2023 would have somewhere played on both Norris and Verstappen’s minds.  In order to ace the weekend but first clinch pole, they’d need something rampant and absolutely to the limit to further dominate the charts. 

However, Verstappen didn’t take long to hit back at Norris as he took pole courtesy a fantastic 1:41:117 and made the most of a Red Bull-dominant Q3. Norris, still in charge of the standings, despite a lowly P7 in qualifying, was further away. 

But while much of the discussion centred around whether the Dutch driver would find his way back to the top step of the podium or whether Norris would recover and find a way to beat expectations, one man quietly raced his way to a Second in qualifying. 

His seemingly strictly-made-for-the-midfield car would find amazing rhythm and ace expectations in a warm Baku afternoon on September 20, 2025. 

They don’t call him Smooth Operator for nothing. 

And in placing his Williams FW47 smoothly on second on the grid, not only did Carlos Sainz claim Williams’ first front-row start to a race since George Russell at the 2021 Belgian GP, but that weekend the Spaniard gave hope to a garage that had been sidelined by car handling issues and a lack of pace on most race weekends. 

A day later, he showed a strong run throughout the race, demonstrating excellent car control, finding grip despite rising track temperatures as he took a valiant third at the end of 51 challenging laps. 

Verstappen did go on to win the race. Piastri made an error of judgement in a jumped start. Norris, ultimately the champion of that season and a deserving one at that, could do no better than seventh.  

But the man who got the job done for Williams was Carlos Sainz Jr., driving a clinical and error-free race for a full 190.170 miles. 

And upon crossing the checkered flag, his jump in excitement to embrace his tireless group of engineers and mechanics was about as heartening as the smile of a gym rat allowed a cheat day by his usually scrupulous instructor.  

While Verstappen dominated Baku with his unputdownable Red Bull, it was the grit and craft of Sainz that gave Williams the princely flavour on a weekend where not many would have perhaps imagined the white and blue-liveried Williams to step on the podium. 

September, Baku and Williams came together perfectly last year to reward James Vowles for his persuasive and tireless work around a team that deserved better days and needed the kind of result that Sainz delivers to keep the hope alive for that big resurgence that they still hope to achieve. 

But the first spark of some improvement, lest we forget, will always be tied to Sainz’s mega podium, a first for him in the iconic constructor, and that too, in his maiden year with a proper English legend. 

Over the years, Sainz has fared much better on other street tracks such as Monaco and Melbourne in comparison to Baku. He claimed a sensational 2024 win at the Albert Park circuit with Ferrari. At Monaco, in 2021, he sealed his first-ever Ferrari podium when he finished 2nd (despite starting from fourth on the grid). It was at Monaco again where he repeated his previous year’s result in claiming a sensational P2 as he beat Verstappen and Leclerc in the race ( in that order), and it was at this famous principality where he claimed another podium in his final season with the Scuderia family. 

But despite not having the best of cars in recent times, Sainz hasn’t really made a mess of his chances at the Baku street circuit at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

Perhaps if there was such a thing as a fan vote for one of the least appreciated Carlos Sainz facts, then his Baku results over the years may certainly attract the most attention. 

Sensational Sainz

In 7 of his drives at Baku, where he’s driven once each with Renault and McLaren, four times with Ferrari and once with Williams,  so far, the Spaniard has registered 5 top-10 finishes. 

So if you’re wondering just how good or strong Carlos Sainz’s record is at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, then it helps to know that he’s bagged a top-5 result on 3 separate occasions. In 2018, as a 24-year-old, he drove home to take a fifth for Renault. His best-ever race result with Ferrari was his underrated P5 in 2023, a drive where, despite grappling with a clear lack of pace, he’d finish ahead of the two Mercedes of Hamilton and Russell. 

But what defines the man is that it didn’t take him a car with imperious race pace nor a machine defined by amazing straight-line speed to capture a Baku podium. 

He did it last year with a machine that perhaps let Carlos Sainz do well enough to earn confidence in the tricky corners, providing him grip on a track that can be demanding. And he quietly got the job done by keeping all four wheels of his car safely inside a track that can often be unsparing to the drivers with the tiniest of mistakes. 

He’s only ever recorded 2 DNF’s here at the Baku Street circuit. With an average finishing position of just over 5, Sainz has managed a constricting venue with innate skill. Moreover, Azerbaijan is a track where Formula 1’s Smooth Operator would bear in mind his last year’s audacious result as he prepares to go racing once again at a venue that spelled a hurrah for the eternal trier on the grid. But could well challenge him this year. 

Perhaps all that makes the prospect of seeing Carlos Sainz at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix a fine racing spectacle. Doesn’t it? 

More F1 Reading

• George Russell Tops Day 1 Timesheets In Baku
• Baku Track Guide: A Corner-By-Corner Breakdown
• 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Fast Facts
• Which Driver Has Won The Most Azerbaijan Grand Prix?

Written by

Dev Tyagi

Black, Parabolica, Monza, Maranello, Toothpicks, Fast, Ferrari, Sainz, Kimilainen, Bellucci, Barrymore, Shai Hope, du Preez, Summers; not winters, Salzburg, Camel, Jaipur, Tea without sugar, Chivalry, Netaji, Simplicity, Deutschland, Allahabad, Ethan Hunt, not 007, Swades, Rommel and Dravid!

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