Carlos Sainz is getting ready to prepare for a very different challenge in 2025 from what he faced at Ferrari last year.
The Mexico City Grand Prix saw Carlos Sainz stand on the top step of the podium after dominating the competition across the race weekend.
It was a result that kept Ferrari in contention to win the constructors’ championship and if it weren’t for Lando Norris’ victory in Abu Dhabi, the Scuderia would have ended their long wait for a title.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be and Sainz departed Ferrari for Williams knowing that he had left the team in a much stronger position than how he found it.
Ferrari will feel they have a brilliant chance of winning both championships, but that’s not the aim for Sainz and Williams heading into 2025.
Instead, Williams are preparing for next year when F1’s regulations change, although they still have one eye on progressing compared to last season when they finished ninth in the constructors’ championship.
Team principal James Vowles will feel the combination of Sainz and Alex Albon gives them the perfect opportunity to improve.
Sainz, in an interview with Soy Motor, has shared how he feels about his new challenge and names two drivers he can’t wait to battle with this season.
Carlos Sainz looking forward to 2025 F1 battle with Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly
Sainz was asked about his psychological process heading into 2025 with different expectations compared to last year and said: “It’s still just 24 races.
“It’s not the same going to 24 races thinking that you can win them as opposed to going to 24 races thinking that you can’t do better than ninth or eighth, something like that and to do better than that, those above you have to fail.
READ MORE: Williams driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height
“It’s a psychological process that a driver like me who has adapted to fighting for victories is sure to have an effect on an emotional level in some way.
“I don’t know if it will be at the first race, the eighth, the 10th, but what I can tell you is that I remember as a driver how it felt to finish ninth and eighth when you did things perfectly and you beat those 12 drivers with whom you have a very similar car and the feeling was not that different to winning a Grand Prix.
“I can assure you that it motivates me, I’m going to be in a super competitive midfield this year.
“I’m going [into this year] with a lot of desire, but on the other hand, drivers with a lot of experience like Fernando [Alonso], [Pierre] Gasly, I think it’s going to be a very fun part of the grid that will motivate me and I’m going to have a good time.”
Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly set to be the best of the rest in 2025
Last season, the top eight positions in the drivers’ championship were all occupied by drivers from the top four teams, although there was a spread of 285 points between Max Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Perez.
However, Fernando Alonso was the next-best performing driver despite Aston Martin’s struggles in the second half of the campaign.
Alonso might not be happy with Aston Martin’s 2025 car either, but the team are set up to thrive when the regulations change next year.
READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso’s life outside F1 from net worth to Cars 2
Pierre Gasly was the in-form driver on the grid at the end of last year, scoring points in four out of the last five races, including a podium in Sao Paulo.
Speaking at the F1 75 launch event, he admitted his aim with Alpine was to be the ‘best of the rest’ this year but is also looking to the future.
“In the end, it almost doesn’t matter whether we’re fighting for eighth, ninth or tenth place,” the Frenchman said.
“I want to win, I want to be on the podium,” Gasly continued, explaining the team’s ‘big opportunity’ arrives next year.
Sainz will be desperate to come out on top against his fellow countryman and a fellow graduate of the Red Bull program.
However, it’s all going to come down to how fast their cars are which won’t be known until pre-season testing begins.
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