For the second year in succession, Carlos Sainz set the fastest time during pre-season testing.
Although lap times in testing mean very little, Carlos Sainz will be pleased that his new Williams team seem to have taken a big step forward over the winter.
Williams team principal James Vowles has been very clear about his long-term ambitions for the Grove-based outfit.
Vowles is willing to sacrifice the 2025 F1 season to concentrate on next year when the regulations change and Williams can make up the deficit they’re dealing with at the moment to the top teams.
However, the processes and procedures that Williams need to be a successful outfit going forward can be put in place now and that’s why their progress from last season is so crucial.
Williams will be delighted that they’ve secured Sainz’s signature and alongside Alex Albon, they have one of the best driver line-ups on the grid.
Sainz has described Albon as the perfect teammate and both drivers will expect to be regularly challenging for points given how well testing went in Bahrain.
However, it wasn’t the perfect three days for the Spaniard and journalist Jon Noble explained on The Race F1 Podcast what left him ‘frustrated’ after the chequered flag flew.
Carlos Sainz ‘clearly frustrated’ after pre-season testing with Williams
Noble was talking about Sainz’s reaction to Bahrain testing during the final day press conference and explained: “Yeah, we spoke to him about 10 minutes before.
“I think he’s clearly frustrated that he’s not done enough testing because I think he feels there is promise and potential in this car that needs to be unlocked.
“I think he senses something, it’s not like he’s come through the test feeling, ‘Oh, we’re a bit middling, let’s just rock on to see where we are,’ I think he senses promise.
“He’s seen some speed, even if they are lighter. If they’re 10, 15 kilos lighter than Alpine that makes a difference but still that the lap times are there in that car so there’s a degree of confidence in it.
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“Carlos quite interestingly talked today about, we’d referenced the test last year and how different the car feels from Abu Dhabi where he tested it in the tyre test to today, and he said the car last year wasn’t bad actually when he jumped in it.
“[It] wasn’t a world away from the Ferrari, it had some deficits but it wasn’t the dramatic drop that perhaps he had feared a little bit.
“So, I think they’ve made progress, I think he feels there is promise there, but I think they’re to have to nail everything because it is going to be tough against Alpine but I do sense that Carlos is quite upbeat.”
Ted Kravitz spotted something ‘interesting’ in Carlos Sainz’s Williams garage during testing
Sainz is entering his 11th season as a Formula 1 driver but has now turned out for half of the teams in the paddock.
It makes him an expert at adapting to new surroundings and every manufacturer he’s joined has improved while he’s been racing for them.
That won’t be too difficult at Williams given they finished ninth in the constructors’ championship last year.
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However, there are nuances within every team that will be different and Ted Kravitz spotted something interesting in Sainz’s garage during testing that he doesn’t think happened at Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton is going through the same adaptation period in Sainz’s place and while they are unlikely to be going wheel-to-wheel this year, the hope for the Spaniard is that Williams will return to their former glory in 2026 and beyond.
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