Williams did something ‘strange’ to Carlos Sainz’s car for Barcelona test outing this week

Carlos Sainz is getting stuck into life at Williams ahead of the 2025 season after his move from Ferrari.

Williams won the driver market when they announced the signing of Sainz on a multi-year deal. Partnering with Alex Albon, the team now have two leaders who can push the team forward.

The Grove-based outfit finished ninth in the constructors’ championship in 2024 with just 17 points. While not much is expected to change in 2025, Williams have huge aspirations for the 2026 regulations and they have the drivers to reach their targets.

But Williams will have to set[ up after Sainz’s arrival to the team. Winning two races and grabbing nine podiums with Ferrari last year, the 30-year-old is a significant upgrade on the likes of Nicholas Latifi, Logan Sargeant and Franco Colapinto.

The team have serious potential with their driver line-up that is locked in for the future. Ayao Komatsu admitted Haas will not catch Williams if they reach their ‘full potential’ with Sainz and Albon.

Sainz wants his and Albon’s nickname to be ‘Carbono’ – an aggressive and serious name that the Spaniard will be looking to translate on the track.

Williams set Carlos Sainz up with the ‘strange’ 2023 spec steering wheel in Barcelona

Ahead of pre-season testing in Bahrain in late February, several teams have been conducting TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) tests behind closed doors. Many teams have been using the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, where Lewis Hamilton crashed last Wednesday in the SF-23 for Ferrari.

Sainz got an outing in the FW45 this week for Williams, with the Spaniard running in the afternoon while Albon got the morning outing. But journalist Jorge Iglesias noticed something ‘strange’ that the Grove-based outfit had set the former up with.

READ MORE: Williams driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height

Speaking on the SoyMotor YouTube channel, Iglesias saw that Sainz was using the 2023 spec steering wheel with a ‘super screen’ on the chassis – which he will not be using in 2025.

“So you can see it, it’s the car with the old Williams steering wheel. So Carlos, it’s the first time he’s driven with the steering wheel with the tablet on top of the chassis”, he said.

“That steering wheel had a notch in the centre and that had the tablet, the super screen placed on the chassis. So it is a strange arrangement.

“It bothers me a little bit that it was the car that they rolled with. Because Carlos is not going to be used to the type of steering wheel that he will have in 2025.

“The maps will be the same. I suppose that the arrangement of buttons on the steering wheel, the relative position will at least be the same.

“Let’s see how there is a limitation in these tests, that you have to use the 2023 specification car, they have not been able to put a 2024 or 2025 steering wheel. But I think it is a problem”.

Carlos Sainz has already had a significant impact on Williams

It may seem strange for Williams to use the 2023 steering wheel for Sainz’s Barcelona outing, but the team still have plenty of time to get the Spaniard properly accustomed to the setup of the 2025 car and mechanics.

Sainz has already impressed Williams engineers in the simulator, and that has been translated onto the track as well. F1 fans were impressed by Sainz’s feedback to his engineers in Abu Dhabi, giving precise and detailed findings just a day after his final race with Ferrari.

It is clear that the 30-year-old’s presence with his teammate is already having a huge effect on Williams. Team boss James Vowles is loving Sainz and Albon’s work behind the scenes as the Grove-based outfit hope to return to their previous glory.

But Vowles has admitted he is holding back Sainz slightly as he fears Williams are getting a bit carried away with where the team could be in the future. They will have to prove their quality on the track as well as off of it.