The biggest driver move in Formula 1’s midfield last season saw Williams win the race to hire Carlos Sainz from Ferrari.
Once it was known that Frederic Vasseur had managed to convince Lewis Hamilton to leave Mercedes, Charles Leclerc’s recently signed new contract meant Carlos Sainz had no option but to explore what other possibilities existed in the F1 paddock for him in 2025.
Audi were keen to sign Sainz to lead their 2026 Formula 1 project, but Sauber’s recent form would have been too offputting for a driver who proved last year that he’s capable of winning Grand Prix.
Alpine made a late bid for Sainz, however, there are also question marks over their future after abandoning their works status to become a Mercedes customer team from next year onwards.
In the end, it made the most sense for the three-time race winner to join Williams with team principal James Vowles saying all the right things about the outfit’s long-term potential.
Williams may have already abandoned 2025 with the new regulations arriving next year their priority.
It means Sainz and Alex Albon have been tasked with trying to improve this year’s car, but also with helping the team with all their efforts to be on the front foot in 2026.
A report from the Spanish outlet Marca has shared what’s going on behind the scenes at Williams already and how Sainz is contributing to that.
Carlos Sainz already impressing Williams staff after Ferrari move
Williams engineers have already been surprised by Sainz and his thorough approach to racing in Formula 1 is only going to help the team going forward.
Albon has been tasked with leading the team’s development from inside the cockpit for several years given the inexperience of previous teammates Nicholas Latifi, Logan Sargeant and Franco Colapinto.
However, the Spaniard is a completely different prospect and even after his shakedown run in Abu Dhabi last year, Sainz was asking for more data about the car to understand why it was driving the way it was.
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The report from Marca suggests that people ‘inside Williams’ are already talking about what he’s ‘bringing to the table’ during his first couple of weeks in the simulator.
His feedback will be invaluable and Sainz is already bringing ‘quality details’ as part of his analysis that comes from his four years working at Ferrari.
They also believe excitement is growing both within the team and from Sainz and Vowles, suggesting that they may already recognise that they’ve taken a step forward from 2024.
Carlos Sainz back on track in Barcelona with Williams ahead of pre-season testing
Although testing outside of the official three-day stint in Bahrain later this month is extremely limited, nearly every team has already taken to the track in some capacity over the past few weeks.
Sainz did plenty of laps in Abu Dhabi at the end of last year, but he and Albon were given their first opportunity to drive one of the team’s old cars in Barcelona on Sunday.
The pair shared the day’s running in Williams’ 2023 car and while very little is known about how Albon and Sainz got on, the Spaniard getting to grips with the new processes and procedures that come with joining a new team will have definitely come in handy.
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It’s hard to know where Williams will slot into the pecking order in 2025, with next season so clearly the priority.
However, there were some obvious areas of improvement for Vowles’ team, particularly as a series of crashes limited their scope for development.
