In the months following Carlos Sainz’s announcement that he would be joining Williams for 2025 and beyond, many speculated how it would be a rude awakening for the #55 driver after four years of fighting at the sharp end with Ferrari. However, the Spaniard’s first outing with the Grove-based team in the post-season test at Abu Dhabi has proven otherwise.
Sainz has reportedly been left impressed by the team after his debut for the squad. “It’s an important time for the team and we are all going to push to bring Williams back to the front of the grid as soon as possible. I was very impressed with the team back in Abu Dhabi,” he said in Williams’ 2025 car launch announcement on their website.
In Formula 1, the stopwatch seldom lies, and Sainz‘s appraisal of his outing in the FW46 is backed by the lap times he put in at the Yas Marina Circuit. Even though the times are not representative of the actual pecking order, the #55 driver was just 0.125s away from table topper, Charles Leclerc at the end of the test.
Carlos’ first ever lap as a Williams Driver
A moment to savour as Carlos sends it around the Yas Marina Circuit pic.twitter.com/y1eb5hoeTA
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) January 7, 2025
This is surely an encouraging sign for the Grove-based team showing that the 30-year-old has hit the ground running with the iconic British team. Moreover, Sainz’s arrival also solidifies their lineup for 2025 — which with Alex Albon is going toe-to-toe across the grid for being one of the strongest this season.
The four-time Grand Prix winner’s experience with Ferrari could come in handy for Williams to develop a race-winning operation in the long term. On top of that, Sainz’s arrival could also help Albon polish his skills and level up his performance as the Thai-British driver wouldn’t want to be left behind in the Grove-based team’s progress.
Williams are treading on thin ice with Sainz
On paper, the duo of Albon and Sainz seem irreplaceable. As a result, their rookie sensation, Franco Colapinto has decided to cut ties with Williams to join Alpine as their reserve driver for 2025.
Team principal, James Vowles admitted as much when he claimed, “Williams has one of the most formidable driver line-ups on the grid for 2025 and beyond in Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, so we believe this agreement with Alpine represents Franco’s best chance of securing a race seat in 2025 or 2026.”
But what this statement entails is added pressure on the duo of Albon and Sainz to deliver for Williams in 2025. It could very well be the case that this “formidable” lineup collapses like a house of cards if the FW47 cannot live up to either of the duo’s expectations.
It is being strongly suggested in the paddock that Sainz has an option to defect to the likes of Red Bull if Williams cannot provide him with a competitive car in 2026. Further, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume that Albon himself has certain performance-related clauses in his agreement with the Grove-based team aimed specifically at 2026 and beyond.
