Williams want Sainz to avoid another pointless fight with Hamilton · RaceFans

Carlos Sainz Jnr mustn’t lose time trying to keep Lewis Hamilton behind in today’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, says Williams team principal James Vowles.

For the second week in a row, Sainz has qualified one place ahead of Hamilton, the driver who took his place at Ferrari this year. Vowles praised Sainz’s performance after taking his best starting position since joining Williams.

“I’m really proud of the steps Carlos is making,” Vowles told the official Formula 1 channel. “He was really in control. It was great to hear him on the radio, in control of what was going on in the session and just working with the team on the best run plan to get him up as high as possible.

“And it was a brilliant lap. They really made some good time up in turn one, two, three and just held on to it.”

Last week in Bahrain, Sainz tried to keep Hamilton behind him during the opening stint, but took too much out of his tyres which compromised him later in the race. Vowles said Sainz must resist the temptation to fight too hard against cars which are significantly quicker than the Williams.

“Carlos said this himself, but we have to take a little bit of care with Lewis,” said Vowles. “We can qualify there, but we’re not quite on that race pace yet.

“So I think one of the reflections from Bahrain is it was great to race the Ferrari, it looked great, but it did cost us a points position. So it’s making sure we race correctly for where the car is tomorrow.

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“Points are on the table, that’s where the car’s been all weekend. But, and it’s always a big but here, it’s never a normal race. We’ve always had red flag [or] Safety Cars that dominate it. So it’s just a question of where that falls.”

Before this weekend began, Sainz said he realised he needed to “pick my fights a bit better” than he did in Bahrain.

“Unfortunately this year I think with the Ferrari, the Mercedes and the Red Bulls I need to, if I’m ahead of them, last year I was fighting them hard but maybe this year I need to be a bit more realistic and let them go.

“Especially on a track like Bahrain, where overtaking in the end is easy and they’re going to pass you. Other tracks, not so much. Maybe Suzuka or other tracks like Monaco, you definitely fight it out.

“But in tracks like Bahrain, maybe pick a bit better the fights and commit to make sure you’re finishing in the points.”