Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon will be one of the stronger lineups on the 2025 grid, as it has a mix of experience, winners and proven podium finishers.
Williams is attempting to recapture its former glory with James Vowles at the helm, who is promising to improve their fortunes by investing significantly in the team over the next few years.
Sainz was sold the seat to Wiliams on the basis that they will sacrifice 2025, in a bid to improve their fortunes for the 2026 season when F1 adopts all-new chassis and engine regulations.
It is a significant move for Sainz having spent the last four years in a position to win races at Ferrari, and regularly finishing on the podium. The news that he would be replaced by Lewis Hamilton for 2025 came this time last year, and it took months for him to sort out his future before eventually settling on Williams.
Now that he has begun his preparation for this year, speaking at their recent private test at Barcelona, Sainz revealed the new ‘nickname’ for both him and Alex Albon.
Carlos Sainz reveals new ‘nickname’ for him and Alex Albon
Sainz has a history of nicknames while at Ferrari including ‘Chilli’ and ‘Smooth Operator’ born out of his love of the Sade song.
Albon’s nickname has historically been ‘Albono’ due to how his race suit used to display his name ‘A.Albon’ and his blood type ‘O+’ when he raced in junior formulas.
Discussing what could be their nickname for the 2025 season, Sainz combined his and Albon’s to make a unique ‘upgrade’ for fans to refer to them as.
Sainz: “We need to upgrade it to Carbono.”
Albon: “Carbono? I like that.”
Sainz: “Yeah, Carbono is the upgrade we need. Carbonara is good but it’s too funny in a way. We need something a bit more serious and aggressive.”
What Williams staff are already saying about Carlos Sainz
Sainz has already started to embed himself within the team after setting the second-fastest time during the post-season test at Abu Dhabi.
Williams engineers have been impressed by Sainz already after the test, which took place at the Yas Marina Circuit in the days after the final race of the 2024 season.
READ MORE: Williams driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height
A report from Spanish media suggests that Sainz is already bringing ‘quality details’ to his feedback at Williams, which can be attributed to his years of experience at Ferrari.
There is also a lot of excitement growing in the team, given that Sainz is a proven race winner and can likely bring them more points finishes.
