Carlos Sainz took pole for the 2022 United States Grand Prix and finished twentieth. Two years later he was on the podium. Both of those afternoons were with the same team.
Ten starts, two podiums, 69 points and no win. It is the most consistent scoring record here of anyone still waiting for a first victory at this race.
Six points finishes, then Ferrari put him near the front
The early years were a steady drip of useful results: seventh on debut in 2015 for Toro Rosso from twentieth on the grid, sixth in 2016, seventh in 2017 and 2018 with Renault, eighth for McLaren in 2019. Five different seasons, three different teams, points every time.
Ferrari brought better grid slots and, at first, no better results. Seventh from fifth in 2021, then 2022: his first and only pole at the Circuit of the Americas, collision damage on the opening lap and a classified twentieth, last of the finishers.
The recovery was quick. Third in 2023 from fourth on the grid and second in 2024 from third gave him back-to-back podiums, and 33 of his 69 points at this circuit come from those two races alone.
2025 was the outlier again. His first Austin weekend with Williams ended in a retirement from ninth on the grid.
Carlos Sainz's United States GP record year by year
Every United States Grand Prix start, with the grid slot it came from and what it was worth.
| Season | Grid | Finish | Points | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 20 | P7 | 6 | Toro Rosso |
| 2016 | 10 | P6 | 8 | Toro Rosso |
| 2017 | 7 | P7 | 6 | Renault |
| 2018 | 11 | P7 | 6 | Renault |
| 2019 | 7 | P8 | 4 | McLaren |
| 2021 | 5 | P7 | 6 | Ferrari |
| 2022 | 1 | P20 | 0 | Ferrari |
| 2023 | 4 | P3 | 15 | Ferrari |
| 2024 | 3 | P2 | 18 | Ferrari |
| 2025 | 9 | P20 | 0 | Williams |
Eight scoring finishes from ten
No win and no fastest lap, but only two blank weekends in ten attempts, and both of those were incidents rather than a lack of pace. The pole in 2022 remains the oddest entry: the best Saturday of his career at this track produced the worst Sunday.
He returns on 25 October in the FW48, a long way from the car that put him on the front row here. On this record, a points finish would be a normal weekend and anything more would be a very good one.
