Sainz: My Ferrari end and Williams begining are separate things

The Spaniard, who will leave Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season to join Williams, spoke candidly ahead of the United States Grand Prix about his approach to the remainder of the season and the transition to his next Formula 1 challenge.

The move is part of a reshuffle in the F1 driver market that will see Lewis Hamilton take his place at Ferrari, while Sainz steps into Williams for 2025.

Despite the forthcoming change, Sainz remains focused on finishing his time at Ferrari on a high note. Asked how he is approaching these last six races with Ferrari and whether his attention is divided between his current and future teams.

Sainz made it clear that his priorities remain split but balanced: "For me, it's two separate things. I'm really looking forward to next year and the challenge with Williams. 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. But there's first a job to finish this year with six races left in a car that can potentially allow me to win a race or score a couple more podiums."

Sainz’s confidence in Ferrari’s current form is rooted in the team’s recent competitiveness. Ferrari has had moments of strong performance throughout the season, and Sainz is eager to capitalize on any opportunity that may arise in the final stretch of races.

"I want to maximize this opportunity to see if I can help the team also finish as far ahead as possible in the Constructors' Championship and obviously give myself that big present of a nice podium or a win, which is what I'm looking for and what I'm focusing on with the last six races," Sainz added.

Although the impending move to Williams represents a significant shift in his career, Sainz has no intention of easing off the throttle in his final outings for Ferrari. He acknowledged that the challenge of achieving success with Williams in 2025 will be more difficult, but he remains driven to succeed, both now and in the future.

"Nothing special, apart from obviously a lot of motivation to try to achieve it," Sainz said when asked if he feels extra pressure to win in these final races for Ferrari. "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. If it comes, great, and I'll be for sure celebrating. And if it doesn't, you know, I don't believe it will be my last chance of fighting for wins or podiums in Formula 1."

Sainz’s belief in his abilities and his future prospects is unwavering, as he emphasized that his quest for victories will not end with Ferrari: "I'll remain working hard to try to get myself in a position, even if it's with Williams or 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."

Sainz revealed that his discussions with the team’s management, including team principal James Vowles, played a crucial role in shaping his choice. Williams has made significant strides in performance recently, and Sainz’s move aligns with the team's upward trajectory.

"On one side, it's very important because obviously during those conversations with James, 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. And so far, he's been a man of his word," Sainz said when asked about Williams' upgrades. The progress of the team and the car's performance have been evident in recent races, with Williams regularly reaching Q3 and scoring points.

But for Sainz, the decision to join Williams was about more than just immediate performance gains: "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," he explained.

"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 organization, and not so much about the short-term performance gains that they were getting," he explained.

Sainz emphasized that it was the team’s long-term vision and professionalism that ultimately convinced him to make the switch: "What convinced me more than the downforce they were going to add or where the team was going to be in six months or one year’s time, was the people and the professionalism and the vision of the project that they had. And this was the main differentiator to me."

As Sainz prepares to embark on his new journey with Williams, his focus remains firmly on the present challenge at Ferrari. With six races left, including this weekend’s United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, Sainz is determined to leave Maranello with the best possible results, all while keeping an eye on his exciting future with Williams.

Whether or not the podiums or wins come, Sainz’s hunger for success is evident, both in his final races with Ferrari and in the new chapter that awaits him in 2025.

This weekend, at the United States Grand Prix, Sainz lies fifth in the 2024 F1 Driver's standings and on the occasion of his 201st GP start will be looking to add to his 21 podiums with Ferrari, and one better would be to take his tally to four victories in Red.