The expectations on Carlos Sainz going into the 2025 Formula 1 season are very different to what he experienced last year.
Carlos Sainz knew before he had even arrived at pre-season testing in 2024 that he was entering his final year as a Ferrari driver.
The Spaniard discovered that he would be replaced by Lewis Hamilton this year after the seven-time world champion decided that he wanted to spend his final chapter in F1 with the sport’s most iconic team.
This put Sainz on the market during a season when more than half of the grid was entering the final year of their contracts.
The 30-year-old was linked with nearly every team in the paddock, and even though Mercedes were interested in Sainz, it turned out that his options were limited to manufacturers in F1’s midfield.
Audi tried to pressure Sainz into signing for Sauber during their final year on the grid, while Alpine made a late bid to hire Sainz.
In the end, Sainz decided that Williams was the best team to join for his medium and long-term Formula 1 future, even though the Grove-based outfit finished ninth in last year’s constructors’ championship.
Team principal James Vowles has had to manage expectations ever since joining Williams from Mercedes.
Vowles has suggested that Williams may have to sacrifice their short-term goals to concentrate on the long-term success of the team.
However, that doesn’t make Sainz’s initial correspondence with the media any easier when being asked about his expectations after swapping Ferrari for Williams.
Carlos Sainz ‘tired’ of being asked about not challenging for F1 race wins at Williams
Journalists Stuart Codling and Alex Kalinauckas attended Williams’ launch event at Silverstone last week and relayed their experiences on the Autosport podcast.
Talking about Sainz’s mood during the day and his high-profile move away from Ferrari, Codling said: “I think another one of the interesting things that came up was about him [Sainz] personally.
READ MORE: Williams driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height
“He was asked, how are you going to manage the situation of not being in the running to win races anymore? How is that going to affect your mindset?
“And he was really quite diplomatic about that. But also open, he said he doesn’t quite know yet how he’s going to react to fighting over 15th place instead of P1, two, three, four or five.”
Kalinauckas replied: “I thought he didn’t like the question actually. I think he’s getting a little bit tired of that. That’s just my early indication.”
Codling added: “Well, it was the end of the day. So he’s probably been asked that umpteen times. So yeah, no wonder he had it quite down pat.”
Carlos Sainz will expect 2025 Williams improvement even if race wins are out of the question
One thing that would have helped Sainz is knowing for some time that he would be stepping down to race for Williams this season.
The grid has converged to such a point that Williams’ 2025 car won’t be that much slower than the Ferrari he was driving last year, but those fine margins make all the difference in Formula 1.
Sainz was impressed during his initial Williams outing in Abu Dhabi and will have plenty of tips from his time with the Scuderia that could help Williams’ development.
READ MORE: All to know about Williams Racing from team principal to Mercedes ties
Williams have already been asked by Sainz to change his steering wheel so that it resembles what he used to use at Ferrari.
It explains why Sainz used an old spec steering wheel during a recent TPC test in Barcelona, but the team’s willingness to listen to and quickly take on board his feedback will be essential to their long-term success.
Sainz and Alex Albon are arguably the strongest pairing in F1’s midfield this year and if they can leapfrog the likes of Racing Bulls and Haas, it would earn the team millions in additional prize money that could go towards developing their 2026 car.
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