Carlos Sainz already tests the Williams in Abu Dhabi

The Scuderia Ferrari is already a thing of the past for Carlos Sainz, who is already part of another historic team such as Williams. The Spanish driver began testing this year’s British car this Monday, in the filming dayto adapt to him at the Abu Dhabi circuit, where last weekend he finished in second place. The Madrid native turns the page after four years with the Italian team, where he has never been the first driver for the Maranello team, to seek leadership dressed in blue. His partner in Williams will be the Thai Alex Albon, who will race for the fourth consecutive year with the British and who has been the team leader these three seasons.

Despite still having a contract with Ferrari, Sainz drove in the blue car this Monday afternoon. Around 1:00 p.m. Spanish time he began testing his new car and completed 200 kilometers with tires that are not those used for competition. Williams has been able to carry out this session having used only one of the two possible ones that each team has during the season. This Tuesday Sainz will ride again to test the new Pirelli tires for the next season, where he will have eight hours with no mileage limit. The 20 cars on the grid will participate in this test, where the rookies of the teams will have the main role.

From the beginning of this year, Sainz already knew that he was not going to continue another year with Ferrari and that his replacement would be the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Even so, the Spaniard has had a great season dressed in red, where he has made his record of points since arriving in Formula 1 —290, with nine podiums and two victories. “It wasn’t an easy season. Starting the year with the news of not continuing in 2025 was a very hard blow, but I knew how to stay out of all that,” said the Madrid native after finishing the race last Sunday.

Now Sainz arrives at a historic team that has been mired in the championship for many years. Williams is the second team with the most team championships (with nine), tied with McLaren after winning the trophy this season and only behind Ferrari (with 14). However, since 1997 they have not won a Constructors’ World Championship and in the last seven years they have been among the three worst teams on the grid. The Spanish driver is facing a great challenge, but one that he faces with great desire and enthusiasm, as he made known after his last dance with the Maranello team. “People can’t imagine how eager I am to face what’s coming. I know that I will not be fighting for victories or podiums in the coming years, but it is not something that worries me, because I have already achieved it at Ferrari,” said Sainz.

Santander also signs for Williams

At the same time that Sainz was testing his new car, Santander and Williams have announced the signing of the Spanish bank as a sponsor of the team. In addition to being the main sponsor of the competition, from 2025 it will be the main sponsor of the British team. “The collaboration includes the presence of the Santander or Openbank logos on the upper part of the racing car chassis, on the chin of the drivers’ helmets and on the team’s sleeve,” they reported in a statement issued this Monday. The Santander brand will also appear on the car for this week’s end-of-season testing in Abu Dhabi, they added.