Carlos Sainz got his first taste of Williams Racing’s 2025 Formula 1 car at Silverstone last Friday.
Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz took part in Williams’ launch event last week and gave the world their first glimpse of the FW47.
Williams organised a public launch, unlike the previous season when the car was shaken down in Bahrain in private just before pre-season testing began.
It shows the added confidence team principal James Vowles has in his outfit, so much so that he played a central role in the production.
Williams were the second team to take to the track at Silverstone to launch their 2025 cars.
McLaren took many fans by surprise by running their car a day before Williams, albeit without the same fanfare around their new car.
Williams’ new drivers are already getting on well and their first runs in the FW47 appeared to be successful.
Jenson Button loved one thing he spotted Sainz doing during his first lap, and while the Spaniard was happy with how his run went, he did have one complaint that Williams could do nothing about.
Carlos Sainz complains about freezing conditions during Williams 2025 F1 car launch
Sainz completed his first installation lap in the car before Albon was able to jump in, but initially, he immediately left and then re-entered the pit lane.
Over the team radio when asked to box, Sainz was asked to give his first impression of the car and said: “All good, just really cold in here, but all good!”
In response to hearing this, Button replied: “He’s doing installation laps in Silverstone now, not Italy!
“Yep, always nice to see the car come back in one piece. But as I said earlier, it’s such a big day because the mechanics and every one, this is really the first time they’ve had this car together.
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“Every single part on this car and the bodywork together and they go, oh, look how well it fits together!
“And I think this year, just talking to the mechanics, everything has fitted together nicely.
“I know that sounds silly, but it doesn’t always happen but you see the way the bodywork fits together and everything, it’s beautiful!”
Carlos Sainz pinpointed one difficulty during initial Williams test run
While Sainz will have to get used to the British weather during his time at Williams, he’ll be concentrating a lot more on how his new car feels.
It’s going to take time for him to adapt considering he spent the past four seasons with Ferrari and while his expectations are different, he’s never joined a new team in the paddock and not improving their position in the constructors’ championship.
Sainz did pinpoint one area for improving with Williams’ new car during testing and the team’s engineers and mechanics have just over a week to make any necessary adjustments before testing begins in Bahrain.
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The Bahrain International Circuit has hosted F1 testing for several years and the limits every driver has had to deal with during pre-season when it comes to mileage no longer apply.
However, Sainz and Albon have to share one man, meaning he’ll only get half of the three-day test to deliver feedback.
Considering Sainz was famous at Ferrari for his reports on the car, Vowles will hope Williams can benefit from a similar level of expertise.
