Carlos Sainz drove Williams’ 2025 F1 car for the first time on Friday morning. The Spaniard will be the biggest attraction outside the frontrunning teams this year after his Ferrari exit.
Sainz is a four-time Grand Prix winner who was, by most accounts, unfortunate to lose his seat in the wake of Lewis Hamilton’s arrival. He’s joining a Williams team who have 16 championship trophies in their cabinet but finished ninth in the constructors’ standings last year.
The big question is whether Sainz, who’s also raced for McLaren, can lead their resurgence. Many are also intrigued to see his battle with Alex Albon, a member of the team since 2022.
Williams held a shakedown/filming day for their new car – the FW47 – at Silverstone, home of the British Grand Prix. Sainz was the first to take to the track.
James Vowles’ team are yet to showcase their 2025 livery, with F1 bosses insisting that they wait until the season launch at the O2 Arena next week. Still, this was an opportunity for Williams to secure some individual airtime after agreeing a title sponsorship deal with Atlassian.
Speaking during the event, Vowles refused to rule out podiums for Sainz, which will no doubt get many fans excited. But the first objective is to start scoring points on a consistent basis.
Jenson Button notices Carlos Sainz immediately going flat out through first corner
2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button was in attendance for Friday’s shakedown. Button started his career at Williams and now represents the team as an ambassador, alongside his punditry duties.
Writing on his Instagram story, he pointed out that Sainz was ‘flat through T1 on lap 1’. The bicep emoji that followed was a sign of his approval.
The first corner at Silverstone is a right-hand kink that’s typically taken at full throttle during a race weekend. However, one would have expected a more cautious approach as Sainz adapts to a brand-new car with no prizes for fast lap times.
What’s more, the air temperature was in single figures, so grip levels were likely to be low. But by carrying so much speed into the turn, Sainz immediately displayed his confidence.
Carlos Sainz did make one complaint to Williams engineers after first 2025 test
Williams used the shorter layout for the session, which was capped at 200km. Sainz skipped out the Wellington Straight and rejoined the Grand Prix circuit on the run towards Stowe.
He’s already driven the last two Williams cars – the 2024 challenger in the Abu Dhabi post-season test, and the 2023 machine in Barcelona earlier this month. With the Bahrain test still to come at the end of the month, he should be well-prepared for his debut.
In Spain, Sainz told engineers he was struggling in high-speed corners. He partly put this down to the power delivery of the unfamiliar Mercedes engine.
His approach to turn one at Silverstone may bode well in that regard. After confirming his move at the end of July, it’s possible that he had some late input on this year’s car design.
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