Watch: The endearing conversation between Carlos Sainz and James Vowles after another disappointing race for the Spaniard

Carlos Sainz's new F1 chapter with Williams has been off to a slow start. With another subpar weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix, he sounded dejected as team principal James Vowles affirmed his faith in him during a radio exchange.

Sainz was one of the seven drivers who won multiple races last year, his best F1 season in terms of results and points. Despite this, he was replaced by Lewis Hamilton on the Ferrari team. This led him to join Williams over the winter break, and despite some concerns, he recorded impressive lap times during pre-season testing.

However, the Spaniard's debut weekend with the team in Australia ended with a Lap 1 crash under the safety car, caused by a torque blip due to an upshift. Aiming to move past the torrid weekend, he hoped to make headway at the Chinese Grand Prix, but qualified last in the Q2 session and started the race 15th on the grid.

Carlos Sainz's efforts during the race were only able to escalate him to 13th, and disappointed with the finish, he said on the team radio post-race:

"I think we improved the car compared to yesterday but from my side, a lot of work to do still. Fix to find. I think I am a lot faster than this."

Vowles tried to lighten the four-time race winner's mood, and said:

"You are of course a lot faster than this, we'll do this together."

Notably, Sainz's underwhelming 13th-place finish brought him his first points for the Grove-based team as the Ferrari pair and Alpine's Pierre Gasly were disqualified after post-race inspections.

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Carlos Sainz says it was a tough weekend for him in China

Carlos Sainz at the F1 Grand Prix Of China - Source: Getty

Carlos Sainz started his Williams venture with the hope of helping the English team to return to the top of the field. However, his teammate Alex Albon has appeared as the leader in the first two races, bagging a massive 16-point haul.

Acknowledging that he has not been on top of the FW47 so far, the 30-year-old said (via Williams):

"It’s been a strange and very tough weekend on my side. To be honest, I’m a bit puzzled because since I jumped in the car in testing in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, I was quick straight away, but I don’t know where the pace and that feeling with the car has gone.

Today we got the strategy right but lacked the pace to move forward, and fuel saving didn’t help either. We have 10 days now to analyze everything and put a plan in place to come back stronger in Japan. Head down and let’s keep pushing."

Oscar Piastri won the Chinese Grand Prix and has reduced his deficit to Lando Norris in the championship standings to 10 points.