Ferrari grants Carlos Sainz permission to drive for Williams in Abu Dhabi post-season tests
Today at 10:51 AM
During the post-season tests in Abu Dhabi, Carlos Sainz will immediately dive into his new journey with Williams, as Ferrari has authorized the Spaniard to take part in the sessions at Yas Marina with the British team.
Post-season tests provide a good opportunity for drivers changing teams to start familiarizing themselves with their respective new teams. However, it is necessary to have the approval of both teams, which are not always willing to grant such a chance.
For instance, Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg will be able to hit the track with Haas and Sauber, their teams for 2025, while Lewis Hamilton will have to wait until next year to begin his Ferrari adventure, as Mercedes did not permit the Englishman to drive the SF-24 in Abu Dhabi for both contractual and marketing reasons.
For Carlos Sainz, this will be an excellent opportunity to get to know the team, learn the car's operational procedures—which vary from team to team—and provide initial feedback to his new team in preparation for 2025.
Carlos Sainz will have one of the two FW46s at his disposal: one will be assigned to a rookie who will run on 2024 tires, while the Spaniard, who will thus participate for the first time in a track session with a Williams car, will run on next year's tires. However, it is still unclear who the rookie in the other FW46 will be, as Franco Colapinto, the first choice of the Academy, has exceeded the maximum limit of two races to be classified as a rookie.
For these tests, Pirelli will provide all teams with both the current tires and those in the 2025 version, not only to give teams additional references for the upcoming tires but also to collect data on the use of the new C6 compound.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, Williams declared it was "pleased to announce today that Carlos Sainz will join the team for the upcoming end-of-season tests in Abu Dhabi, marking the first steps in his preparation for the 2025 season."
The statement added: "This initial opportunity will allow Carlos and Williams to begin building their relationship. The test session will be a valuable occasion for Carlos to start integrating into the team's new environment, and he will drive the FW46 for the first time. Carlos will race for Williams alongside Alex Albon in 2025, forming one of the most formidable driver lineups on the grid."
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