Sainz backs his pre-break decision, seeing in Williams the potential he observed at McLaren.
Carlos Sainz had predicted McLaren F1’s rise and asserts he harbours the same sentiment regarding his next team, Williams.
Sainz was aware early this year that he would lose his seat at Ferrari to Lewis Hamilton in 2025, and he became the focal point of the F1 driver market for several months.
He stresses that when he left McLaren, he had foreseen the success the team is currently achieving this year. Sainz sees similar qualities in Williams, which he will join next year.
“I’ve always had this feeling during all these negotiations, I’ve always kept Williams in the back of my mind because I’ve always had a good feeling about James Vowles and the Dorilton Capital investment group,” Sainz stated today at Zandvoort during the media day for the Dutch F1 Grand Prix.
“I’ve learned over the years in Formula 1 to trust my gut feeling about people.”
“I remember when I left McLaren in 2020, I felt that the team was moving forward and would succeed in the future, after spending time working with Zak Brown and Andrea Stella.”
“When I left McLaren, I said they might not win next year or the year after, but this team with these people was going to win soon.”
“Four years later, they are at an incredibly high level. I had that feeling at the time, and now I have this feeling about the people and culture at Williams. I have to trust this feeling, and that’s what I’ve committed to.”
Sainz elucidates his desire to join Williams
Williams outpaced competition from Sauber/Audi and Alpine to secure his much-coveted signature.
“It was crucial for me to make the decision before the summer break. It’s been a gruelling seven months of my career where I had to contend with everything that happened in January, on top of needing to perform as a Ferrari driver in a high-pressure environment.”
“You speak to so many other teams, you analyse, and you lay everything on the table while also competing. I set myself a target to decide before the break, and when I made the decision, I wanted to be 100% convinced.”
“I made this decision because Williams is the team with which I had a very good feeling and very good conversations from the beginning, it’s a team deeply committed to F1 with a robust project, strong leadership, and a determination to bring a historic Formula 1 team back to the forefront.”
“This is something that drives me, it motivated me when I went to McLaren, and when I joined Ferrari when it was at the bottom of the grid after a difficult 2020. And it motivates me now to succeed in such a project with Williams.”
Sainz has clinched a Grand Prix for Ferrari in each of the last three years, including earlier this season in Australia.
However, in 2025 at least, his new car will likely not be contending for podiums.
“I’m very honest with you, I’ve been in Formula 1 for 10 years and I haven’t been fighting for wins for eight of those years. I did it for two or three years. So I’ve spent more time not fighting for victories than fighting for them.”
“For me, Formula 1 is very much about extracting the maximum from the car, the result doesn’t solely depend on the athlete and the driver, it depends on the machine you’re driving.”
“All that matters is how I will also help Williams, how I will advance the project, that’s what truly motivates me.”
“I want to feel listened to, I want to feel that I can be of assistance, and with a historic team like Williams, when they have a clear vision and are highly committed to bringing the team back to prominence with very clear investment partners, that was important to me. The results of 2025 might not be wins or podiums, but I still believe we can do good work.”
Sainz can now focus on his on-track performance during F1 weekends without the distraction of his future.
“It’s not easy to compete at a high level as a Ferrari driver while having to make such a significant decision about one’s future at the same time.”
“It took up a lot of space in my mind and I think I’ve always been open and honest with you—I didn’t have difficulties, my results have shown that I really didn’t have difficulties—but it definitely sapped some of my energy, took some mental energy.”
“I remember going into the break once I had made the decision with a bit of relief, thinking that now, I needed to disconnect, recharge my batteries, and come back for the next 10 races where my sole focus will be on delivering 10 excellent races for Ferrari.”
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Sainz Foresees Potential at Williams Mirroring McLaren Sainz Foresees Potential at Williams Mirroring McLaren. f1 2024 Sainz Foresees Potential at Williams Mirroring McLaren
