“My place is where I fight for victories”

The 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was Carlos Sainz's final race with Ferrari. The driver will race this year in the colors of Williams, for whom he made his debut during post-season testing.

During the four years he spent with the Prancing Horse, Sainz scored a total of 25 podiums, four victories and six pole positions. Replaced by Lewis Hamilton, the Spaniard will in all likelihood return to the middle of the grid.

It's no secret that the British team's current form is far from the best. It notably finished ninth in the constructors' championship with 17 points scored. The best qualifying position for a Williams in 2024 was Alex Albon's seventh place in Brazil, a Grand Prix in which he ultimately did not participate due to a big accident at the end of Q3. In the race, the team's best result was seventh place for the same Albon in Baku.

Williams' performances in recent years are far from those of his glorious past and Carlos Sainz is well aware of this. During the post-race press conference in Abu Dhabi, the Spaniard was asked about the challenges awaiting him in 2025. Asked whether it will be possible for him to get on podiums with his white and blue suit, he replied: “That's a question I can't answer. It's impossible to predict the future, impossible to know how long it will take me and Williams to fight for the podium again.”

“I think James [Vowles, directeur de Williams, ndlr] said it the other day and calmed everyone's expectations; “Next year will be a challenging year and a learning year before we prepare for the regulation change in 2026, which I believe the team is investing in and preparing to maximize this chance for.”

Sainz seems very motivated by the challenge represented by his adventure at Williams. He is totally convinced that he can help the team regain performance: “What I can tell you is that I am more determined than ever to help this team find its place again.”

“Personally, I think my place is where I fight for victories, podiums and top 5s in Formula 1”he added. “I think I've proven that in the last four years as a driver. I think it's my place. But Williams can't forget that she also has her place in the fight for the top five places and the podiums.”

“With the determination and strength that I believe we will show together, the goal is to have Williams and myself fighting for these positions for the foreseeable future. I can't tell you how long it will take.”

Williams remains one of the legendary F1 teams. Entered in the championship for the first time in 1975, it is the third team with the greatest number of Grand Prix participations behind Ferrari and McLaren. In particular, it was crowned seven times in the drivers' championship and nine times in the constructors' championship between 1980 and 1997.

However, the glorious years of the team having welcomed Jacques Villeneuve, Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost seem far away. The last season Williams was truly competitive was in 2015, where she finished third in the standings, with a duo of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.

Currently, the team's last podium finish is George Russell's second place at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix (which only lasted a few laps behind the safety car due to catastrophic conditions). His last victory, and the only one in the last 20 years, dates back to 2012 with the success of Pastor Maldonado at the Spanish Grand Prix.

However, this observation does not take anything away from Carlos Sainz's determination. Furthermore, as the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix demonstrated, F1 is never safe from a race with an incredible scenario which could offer mid-grid teams the possibility of a podium, or even victory. .

“As I said before, I don’t think you understand and expect how motivated and eager I am to take on this challenge”added Sainz. “I know that’s one of my qualities, to help a team perform better and know which direction to take.”

“And that really motivates me, to have a complete team behind Alex and I pushing in the same direction to make a historic team like Williams competitive again. It's a challenge that's hard to explain, but some People don't understand how much I'm looking forward to it.”

Praises from a former teammate

The post-race press conference of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix also welcomed Lando Norris, former teammate of Carlos Sainz at McLaren from 2019 to 2020. In addition to having been together in the same team, the two drivers are friends outside of F1.

“I will miss Carlos”Norris then said regarding no longer seeing Sainz in the battles for the top places next year. The Spaniard immediately added: “I don't think that's true. I think it's better [pour lui]”to which Norris replied: “I’m glad he’s not in a fast car anymore!”.

Following this exchange, the Briton explained that, although he is sad that a talented driver like Sainz is relegated to the back of the field, he is convinced that the Spaniard's qualities will allow him to bring Williams back to the front of the stage.

“Carlos is someone I know well”Norris said. “CIt's a shame because I think he has proven himself well enough in Formula 1 to deserve a good place. He deserves to fight for championships and wins and that kind of thing, and it's a shame to lose this opportunity. But it's not because he doesn't have the talent or the ability. It's because the biggest name in Formula 1 [Lewis Hamilton] wants his place. But he has proven himself well enough. So I don't think anyone should doubt him.”

“He will come back”concluded Norris. “Williams has improved a lot. They didn't have someone with a lot of experience on a top team [ces dernières années]. Carlos will definitely bring that and propel the team forward. The team has gone through many changes over the past few months and year. Even this year, Williams has been very fast at times. I expect to see him again on the track.”

“I'm sure next year Williams will take a big step forward from where they are now. We don't know. We don't know when they will fight [aux avant-postes]. Even in 2026. That's a little over a year away, but anything can happen. Williams can be on top all of a sudden. We'll see.”