Carlos Sainz can be thoroughly satisfied with Williams’ showing during pre-season testing. While he inevitably faces a comedown from fighting for the constructors’ at Ferrari, he’s found fresh optimism for the year ahead.
There are signs that Williams, who finished second from bottom last season, may have surged to the top of the midfield. They could be competing with Alpine for the ‘best of the rest’ role behind the top four.
That should mean points on a consistent basis, and big results when one of the top eight drivers encounters an issue. James Vowles believes Williams can score a podium – for the first time since Belgium 2021 – in a suitably chaotic race.
Sainz set a 1:29.348 on day two of testing, which proved to be the fastest lap overall. Alex Albon was also in the top six with a 1:29.650.
It’s possible – likely, in fact – that Williams were running lower fuel loads than the traditional frontrunners. However, the very fact that Sainz is within two-tenths of Max Verstappen’s 2024 pole time bodes well for the Grove outfit.
Williams didn’t complete a race simulation in Bahrain, so their long-run pace is still an unknown. But they seem confident that they’ll be able to translate their promising single-lap speed to a full Grand Prix distance.
James Vowles couldn’t believe how quickly Carlos Sainz was fast at Williams
Sainz has taken every possible opportunity to adapt to his new team. Within 24 hours of last season’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he jumped in Williams’ FW46 for a filming day at Yas Marina.
A day later, with permission from old employers Ferrari, he took part in the official post-season test. Sainz was second fastest behind Charles Leclerc, which wowed Vowles.
Speaking to talkSPORT, the team boss said his new signing’s rapid adaptation was ‘mind-blowing’. And he also praised his feedback to the engineers.
Sainz’s observations typically align with what’s in the data, he says. And even though English isn’t his first language, he’s remarkably concise.
“First of all, in Abu Dhabi, the rate he got up to speed was mind-blowing to me,” Vowles said. “It was really just a handful of laps before he was second on the timesheets, and he held it there all day.
“His feedback is more concise than I expected, really brilliant. He’s very good at distilling information in a way that you can understand concisely, and then find in the data later as well. He has the ability with just a few words to bring our team to absolute celebration.”
Carlos Sainz just put pressure on Lewis Hamilton with his verdict on Williams F1 car
Roberto Merhi is helping Sainz ahead of his Williams debut, Ted Kravitz noticed at testing. Merhi only completed 14 races at the back of the grid but his input is clearly valued.
Sainz is only 30 but this is his fifth different team in F1. Vowles is hopeful that he can turn Williams into winners after his experience at Ferrari.
Williams are targeting victories in 2027, the second year of the new ruleset. That may mean making sacrifices in the second half of this season.
Surprisingly, Sainz said he only needed 10 laps before he could drive the Williams instinctively. Perhaps that removes one potential excuse for Lewis Hamilton, the man who replaced him at Ferrari.
