Carlos Sainz is in action for new team Williams after lunch on day one of pre-season testing in Bahrain. Alex Albon was the first out on track before handing over to the new signing.
Williams were arguably the biggest winners of the 2025 F1 driver market, making the kind of move nobody would have expected at the turn of the year. Ferrari’s stunning move for Lewis Hamilton made Sainz available.
They won a battle among three midfield teams (Alpine and Sauber/Audi also chased the Spaniard) to make a statement signing. Sainz has signed an initial two-year deal at Williams, with the option for further seasons.
He already had a chance to drive the FW47 before he arrived in Bahrain. Williams were one of the few teams to hold a traditional car launch just days before the F1 75 launch in London.
Sainz debuted the new car at Silverstone, but his laps in Bahrain will be far more representative. He’s also driven the 2023 entrant on home soil in Barcelona, which is permitted under F1’s TPC rules.
The 30-year-old won two Grands Prix last year and stood on the podium nine times. His new team finished second from bottom with just 14 points, so an adjustment in mindset will be required.
David Croft knows Carlos Sainz is ‘absolutely committed’ to Williams
Speaking during F1 testing, Sky Sports commentator David Croft revealed details of a conversation with Sainz in Abu Dhabi last December. His move to Williams had been confirmed at the start of the summer break.
Croft privately asked whether Sainz considered Williams a ‘stop-gap’. He suspected that the former McLaren man was angling for a swift return to a frontrunner.
But even when the cameras weren’t on, Sainz emphasised his commitment to Williams. He buys into the optimism expressed by team principal James Vowles.
The former Mercedes strategist is banking on the 2026 rule changes as he looks to make a significant jump up the grid. Williams haven’t won a race since the 2012 Spanish GP.
“I had a really good chat with Carlos in Abu Dhabi, Sunday morning,” Croft said. “We were chewing the cut and talking about this season to come.
“I just said ‘is this another stop-gap for you?’ – yet another team, his fifth different team in 10 seasons.”
“He said ‘no, no, I’m absolutely committed for the long term with Williams’. James has explained what’s going on behind the scenes and the direction that the team are going in. And he said ‘I fully believe in what we can do come 2026 and how we can move further up the grid’.
“It was really refreshing to hear, to be honest. He’s not gone there thinking ‘where can I be in a year’s time?’.
Carlos Sainz’s biggest disappointment of 2024 wasn’t losing his seat to Lewis Hamilton
Sainz has just become a GPDA director, replacing Sebastian Vettel. Last year’s reshuffle has made him one of the most experienced drivers in F1.
He passed 200 race starts last year and is now entering his 11th season. This is the first time in his career, though, that he’s committed to a long-term, back-to-front project.
Sainz has had more than a year now to process his Ferrari exit. He wasn’t sacked, he was simply let go when he reached the end of his contract.
He recognises that Hamilton is a seven-time world champion who could replace almost any driver. But Sainz was more upset about the lack of offers from Mercedes or Red Bull, who both had vacancies and looked elsewhere.
