Carlos Sainz is moving to Williams ahead of the 2025 season after ending his stint at Ferrari with a second-place finish in Abu Dhabi.
The Spaniard spent four years at Ferrari and performed admirably for the Scuderia. He took two victories this season and finished in the top seven at every event where he saw the chequered flag.
Carlos Sainz is being replaced by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, and Williams will be a significant step down. The British team finished ninth in the Constructors’ Championship after a year of incidents and instability within their driver line-up.
Williams’s new driver is returning to the midfield after spending much of his career there, racing for Toro Rosso and later at McLaren and Renault.
Sainz now has to adjust his expectations after fighting for wins and podiums for four years.
In 2025, he’ll likely be focusing on trying to score points unless Williams make significant steps forward over the winter.
Sainz is driving for Williams in post-season test at the Yas Marina Circuit which should help him adjust to life at the British team.
After the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Spaniard explained what motivates him at Williams, where he partners Thai driver Alex Albon.
Carlos Sainz shares his main motivation for next season after joining Williams
Williams have been floundering near the back of the field for multiple seasons after a promising start to the hybrid era in 2014.
Sainz’s experience at Ferrari and raw speed should help the outfit improve as they look to score points consistently throughout next season.
READ MORE: Martin Brundle shares why Carlos Sainz is a ‘class act’ after leaving Ferrari for Williams next season
He explained having the full backing of the team alongside Albon is a motivation for the former Ferrari driver, and Sainz knows his qualities.
The Spaniard said in the FIA post-race press conference: “But as I said before, I don’t think you guys understand and expect how motivated and how much I’m actually looking forward to that challenge. I know that’s one of my qualities, to help a team to perform better and to know which directions to follow.
“And that actually motivates me; having a full team behind Alex and me pushing all in the same direction to make a historic team like Williams competitive again. It’s a challenge that it’s tough to explain, but some people don’t understand how much I’m actually looking forward to it.”
Sainz knew he was leaving Ferrari before the season started as Hamilton replaced him and he was quickly overlooked by other top teams.
Red Bull didn’t pursue him despite Sergio Perez struggling, and Martin Brundle feels Sainz should be at Mercedes rather than Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Carlos Sainz topped the first session of the Abu Dhabi post-season test
The test in Abu Dhabi is a great opportunity for Sainz to learn about his new team and the car’s deficiencies ahead of 2025.
The Spaniard was very quick on his first run, topping the timesheets in the morning ahead of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc who are staying at McLaren and Ferrari.
Testing can often be misleading as there is little information about run plans and fuel levels between the cars, but this is a positive start.
A good start at the opening round of the season in Australia will lift the team after 2024, which was a difficult year with crashes and struggles for spare parts.
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