Having linked up with Williams shortly before the winter break, it was the “motivation” Carlos Sainz saw which really made an impression.

That was because spirits remained high after a 24-round F1 2024 schedule and a run of major crashes to contend with.

Williams ‘motivation’ impressed Carlos Sainz

With Ferrari confirming pre-F1 2024 that seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton had signed on a multi-year deal from 2025, Sainz was forced to look elsewhere, ultimately settling on Williams as his next F1 home.

And before the year was out, Sainz was able to link up with his new Williams team for the first time, completing a filming day ahead of representing them in the Abu Dhabi post-season test.

The Spaniard joined Williams after what had been a challenging run of races for the team, Franco Colapinto suffering a pair of heavy crashes in Brazil before a major qualifying shunt in Las Vegas, while Alex Albon missed the Brazilian GP after a big crash in qualifying.

And in a Williams video which captured Sainz’s first day at Williams headquarters in Grove, he was asked for his first impressions of the team.

“First impressions, honestly, very positive,” he replied.

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“I think we had a very productive two days of testing. Also, thanks to everyone who that made that possible. Also, the filming day on Monday helped a lot to make sure that on Tuesday, we were straight into work. I think this was something that I really appreciated, because it meant I could use that full Abu Dhabi tyre test to my advantage and to our advantage.

“I think the thing that I was most impressed about, if I’m honest with you, is just how motivated everyone was even at the end of the year, when we all know you went through a tough last few races, a lot of hard work here at the factory, a lot of hard work at the track to get the two cars to keep going after such a bad run of crashes.

“And I found people that were really enthusiastic and very motivated to work those two days, and it’s not easy, because in the Abu Dhabi test, everyone is after a triple-header, very low on energy. I’ve done that test with other teams, and I know how tired everyone gets to the end of the season at that stage.

“And I saw smile faces everywhere. I saw people wanting to participate, wanting to collaborate, wanting to make that test as positive as possible. And honestly, I was extremely impressed by that, and I really enjoyed the two days, and it was the perfect way to go into the winter, knowing I have the full backing and I have everyone pushing flat out to the rest of the winter.”

Sainz comes in at Williams to race alongside Albon, with the duo on Friday having met their F1 2025 challenger – the FW47 – at a Silverstone launch event where Sainz drove the first laps in Williams’ new creation.

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