Carlos Sainz and his father have been treated to a special farewell test by Ferrari ahead of the Spaniard’s switch to Williams for the F1 2025 season.

Sainz was informed last winter that his Ferrari contract would not be extended beyond the F1 2024 season following the team’s signing of Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes on a multi-year deal.

Carlos Sainz completes emotional farewell Ferrari F1 test

The former Renault and McLaren driver responded by producing arguably the most impressive season of his career, collecting two victories in Australia and Mexico.

Sainz announced in July that he will join Williams on a multi-year contract from the F1 2025 season, with Ferrari agreeing to an early release to allow the 30-year-old to represent his new team in last week’s post-season test in Abu Dhabi.

On his unofficial debut for Williams, Sainz completed 146 laps over the course of the single-day test, posting the second-fastest time behind former Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Analysis: Carlos Sainz to join Williams from Ferrari

👉 Carlos Sainz to Williams: Five reasons why surprise F1 2025 move isn’t as crazy as it sounds

👉 F1 2027 driver line-up: Which drivers are already confirmed for the 2027 grid?

Sainz’s outing came after Spanish bank Santander announced a major sponsorship arrangement with Williams from next year, having linked up with Ferrari over the last three seasons.

Sainz was back at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track on Tuesday as he and his father, the rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr, were treated to a special test session to mark the end of his time with the team.

Clips posted to social media showed father and son on track together behind the wheel of Ferrari’s 2022 car, the F1-75, with which Sainz claimed his maiden F1 victory at that year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Once the on-track running had concluded, both Sainz’s delivered a speech to a group of Ferrari staff on the main straight at Fiorano.

Sainz Sr said: “I want to thank you all. You cannot imagine. You have made a grandfather a very happy man today.”

Referencing his father’s victory at the historic Dakar Rally earlier this year, Sainz Jr added in Italian: “This year, a 62-year-old grandfather tries a Ferrari and wins the Dakar. Thanks to you all and see you next year on track!”

Sainz’s farewell appearance comes after Eddie Jordan, the former F1 team owner, revealed that father and son were moved to tears during his final race with the team in Abu Dhabi, with the latter still struggling to come to terms with Ferrari’s decision to replace him.

Jordan went on to argue that John Elkann, the Ferrari chairman who is known to have a friendly relationship with Hamilton, “must have rocks in his head” to have dropped Sainz.

Fred Vasseur, the Ferrari team principal, left the door open to Sainz potentially rejoining the team in the future, revealing that both parties have already held talk about a possible reunion.

Hamilton’s Ferrari contract is widely believed to cover the F1 2025 and F1 2026 campaigns, with the exact length of the extension penned by Leclerc in January this year not specified by the team.

Asked about re-signing Sainz in the future, Vasseur told DAZN Spain at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: “Of course. We have already talked a couple of times about this.

“This is a very small world. There are only 10 teams and only six or seven top drivers.

“You never know what is going to happen in the future, but most of us – both Carlos on his side and us on our side – have to focus on our projects.

“We don’t know what will happen in 2027, 2028, 2029…”

Read next: Lewis Hamilton ‘danger’ over Ferrari contract length shared by Ralf Schumacher