After a memorable four-year stint with Ferrari, Carlos Sainz had to swallow the bitter pill of leaving the fabled Italian outfit to make way for seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton in 2025. While the Spaniard was unsurprisingly heartbroken to hear the news, he seems to have accepted his fate now.
Although Williams may not be as big of a team as Ferrari — which may impact Sainz‘s popularity among his fans — his revised public relations (PR) strategy has ensured that he keeps his fans engaged both on and off the track. To help him build a new image at Williams, the 30-year-old has made subtle changes in his PR strategy.
Famous content creator Podium Sundays, who has over 35k followers on Instagram, revealed how Sainz has moved his PR strategy from Ferrari’s iconic Scarlet Red to Williams‘ Blue. When Sainz was at Ferrari, most of the clothes he wore were in the shade of red.
But now that he is at Williams, he is sporting more clothes with different shades of blue. The content creator revealed that even Sainz’s biking uniform — which had a striking shade of red — has now changed to blue. Last but not least, Sainz is now also partnering with more British companies after moving to Grove.
“I like blue”
So do we Carlos, so do we pic.twitter.com/SLSxrNh9yH
— Atlassian Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) February 18, 2025
Sainz and his father, Carlos Sainz Sr., appeared in a promotional campaign with Hackett London, wearing different clothing in shades of blue. As he has shifted base to the UK, many British brands will look to bring him onboard as an ambassador, which naturally has an incentive for Sainz as well.
The content creator believes that this conscious shift in his PR strategy has helped Sainz achieve exactly what he wanted — that is to remain in the minds of F1 fans even if he may not be competing at the front of the grid.
Is Sainz ready to stay at Williams for the long term?
With Sainz putting in so much effort to change the narrative of his PR strategy, it is most likely that he plans to stay at Williams for the long term. The Spaniard has revealed on multiple occasions that he joined the Grove-based outfit because he believes in their vision and is confident that he can help them return to the front of the grid.
Sainz agreed to sign a contract with Williams in July last year for 2025 and beyond, revealing how his “ultimate goal” was to bring “Williams back to where it belongs, at the front of the grid“. He reiterated his commitment to Williams in a recent interview when he stated how he has not joined the team “to just hang around or let the years go by, to be in the middle of the grid“.
“When we’re beating Ferrari, I think he’d prefer to be here”
A bold prediction from Williams’ James Vowles as he discusses the incoming Carlos Sainz and much more on the Beyond The Grid podcast. Click to listen in full! #F1 pic.twitter.com/WMMn8hB3CT
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 2, 2024
Instead, the #55 driver is confident that he can help Williams return to winning ways just like how he played a crucial role in McLaren’s recent successes. When Sainz joined McLaren in 2019, the team was struggling to even score points consistently, let alone fight for podiums.
In the Spaniard’s very first season, he clinched a podium with the Woking-based outfit in Brazil. Although Sainz left the team at the end of 2020, he helped the team lay the foundation for future success, which he believes he can also replicate at Williams.
“I remember when I left McLaren (after 2020), I really thought there were really good people there, and the team could be world champions in the future,” Sainz explained his reasoning for joining Williams in an interview ahead of the 2025 season. “McLaren ended up being world champions last year.”
