Carlos Sainz Jnr does not believe he won’t fight for victories again after leaving Ferrari for Williams at the end of the year.
Ferrari announced at the start of the year that Sainz will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton for 2025. Williams later named him as Alexander Albon’s next team mate.Although Williams have not been in contention for race victories for several seasons, Sainz said he is excited about the prospect of joining the Grove-based team.
“I’m really looking forward to next year and the challenge with Williams,” he said. “First of all, it’s also good to see how much they’ve improved recently and how that car now can get to the points quite often in the last few races. So there’s encouragement, and looking forward to that, obviously.”
Sainz took a memorable victory earlier in the season in the Australian Grand Prix, his third career win in Formula 1 over his four seasons with Ferrari. Asked if he aims to try and secure another win before he leaves Maranello, Sainz said that “nothing would make me happier than achieving something like that before the end of the year.”
“I’m going to give it my absolute best,” he continued. “If it comes, great, and I’ll be for sure celebrating. And if it doesn’t, I don’t believe it will be my last chance of fighting for wins or podiums in Formula 1.
“I’ll remain working hard to try to get myself in a position, even if it’s with Williams or in the future ahead, to put myself in a position to win another race because that’s what I’m hungry for and that’s what I believe I can do and that’s what I’ve proven that I can do in Ferrari. It doesn’t end there.”
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Williams has gained momentum in recent races, having scored 13 points over the last four rounds with the addition of rookie Franco Colapinto to the team’s line-up replacing Logan Sargeant. Sainz says he has been encouraged by discussions he’s had with Williams team principal James Vowles about his plans for the future.
“We did talk a lot about this year, how much they were going to improve and which position they were going to be on for 2025,” Sainz said. “And, so far, he’s been a man of his word and his expectations. With upgrades in Formula 1, you never know, but you saw it clearly this year that bringing three tenths to the car doesn’t always mean three tenths on paper.
“He’s been a man of his word in this sense, and the team seems to be taking their steps in the right direction. At the same time, this news that I was receiving from him and these promises – because they were not promises, they were expectations of the car getting quicker through the season and into next year – didn’t affect that much my decision. As I said, my decision was a lot more based on the people and the feeling that I was getting from talking to the management, talking to the owners and the feeling that I was getting from the whole organisation and not so much about the short-term performance gains that they were getting.
“Definitely what convinced me more than the downforce they were going to add or where the team was going to be in six months, one year’s time, was the people and the professionalism and the vision of the project that they had. This was the main differentiator to me.”
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Jere (@jerejj)
24th October 2024, 20:02
Time will tell, but winning even a single race beyond the upcoming Abu Dhabi GP can realistically only happen if he either were to make a Ferrari return someday like Kimi eventually did or received a chance in another regular top team or future-would-be one.
I’m skeptical he could get into a winning position at Williams, even within the next technical regulation cycle.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
24th October 2024, 23:56
You never know, it’s difficult to imagine williams mixing it again in performance with the likes of ferrari, mclaren, red bull and mercedes, but they were a top team 21 years ago and maybe they can be again.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
24th October 2024, 23:58
And in terms of 1-off race wins, there was the crazy 2012 season where maldonado won on performance in a williams, so only 12 years ago; mclaren also didn’t win a race between 2012 and 2021, and look where they are now, about to get their first constructor’s championship in 26 seasons.
Nick T.
25th October 2024, 0:50
I agree. I see just as much chance of Williams being a winning team after 2026 as RBR or possible even Mercedes who’ve proven over and over they don’t understand how to design a ground effects car.
BasCB (@bascb)
25th October 2024, 7:33
Yes, I am pretty sure that is what Sainz imagines when talking about having more opportunities to win in the future – impress enough at Williams to get a solid chance to get back into a front of grid car once the moves around 2026 with drivers get going (Alonso might retire, who knows how Hamilton does at Ferrari, will Max stay at Red Bull, how will Norris vs. Piastri pan out at McLaren, will Antonelli work out, and what would that mean for Russel, etc, a lot of oppertunities coming in about 2 seasons)
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
25th October 2024, 11:48
We don’t know tho. Look at McLaren. Back in 2018 we all thought they were done. Relegated to costumer engines, in deep deep trouble technically yet now they are about to win a championship.
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
24th October 2024, 23:31
I think unless williams produce a top car I think that’s the end for sainz. Both Red Bull and Mercedes said no. Aston will only ever have one seat available and will they ever get to the top. Ferrari probably won’t be a route back and Mclaren seemed locked with their driver line up for a number of years.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th October 2024, 0:00
Mclaren seems most realistic if some friction happens between their drivers, and they know what they can expect from sainz, as he’s been there before.
Nick T.
25th October 2024, 0:55
Things can change so quickly in F1. We have no idea how things will unfold. A million things could lead to Sainz ending up in a winning car. Not to mention Williams now has a staff nearly as big as any other team, they’ve recently signed some very successful senior designers and they’re rebuilding their infrastructure quickly. So, maybe they’ve got a while before they’ll be a champion contender, but they could be good enough to win an odd race now and then..
I have an opinion
25th October 2024, 2:53
He’s on the downward trajectory of his career. No established top teams will take him now. His best shot is to become enmeshed at Audi or Andretti and hope they can build a winning car before he retires.