Williams has introduced that Carlos Sainz has acquired Ferrari’s permission to look in System 1’s season-concluding Abu Dhabi tyre take a look at to get an early pattern of his new group’s automotive.
Sainz will be part of Williams alongside Alex Albon in 2025, along with his present deal to race for Ferrari expiring on the finish of the yr and his seat being taken by present Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.
Each Sainz and Hamilton will stay contracted to their present squads till the tip of the calendar yr, which suggests if their new groups needed them to prove within the Abu Dhabi take a look at they would want to hunt permission.
Mercedes has organized end-of-year promotional commitments for Hamilton after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Autosport revealing earlier this week that he’ll subsequently get his first style of Ferrari F1 equipment in a Testing of Earlier Automobiles run at an unspecified date in early 2025.
However Sainz can now soar straight from Ferrari’s SF-24 to testing Williams FW46 within the Abu Dhabi take a look at that may happen two days after the 2024 season finale – during which he’ll hoping his present group can beat McLaren and Purple Bull to the constructors’ title.
In a press release launched on Friday afternoon, Williams mentioned it’s “happy to announce at this time that Carlos Sainz will be part of the group for the upcoming Abu Dhabi end-of-season take a look at, marking the primary steps in his preparations for the 2025 season”.
The assertion added: “This early alternative will permit each Carlos and Williams to start constructing their relationship.
Alex Albon, Williams Racing, and Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, chat on the grid
Picture by: Mark Sutton
“The take a look at session will present a useful likelihood for Carlos to start integrating into his new group surroundings, and he’ll drive the FW46 for the primary time.
“Carlos will drive for Williams alongside Alex Albon in 2025, forming one of the formidable driver line-ups on the grid.”
The Abu Dhabi take a look at is run by Pirelli, with F1’s guidelines requiring every collaborating group to discipline each its automobiles, however with just one stuffed by an everyday driver or new signing (akin to Haas will do that yr with present Alpine racer Esteban Ocon).
However it’s unclear who Williams will get to check the opposite FW46 alongside Sainz.
Since he changed Logan Sargeant after the Dutch GP, Williams junior Franco Colapinto has now accomplished greater than the utmost permitted two races to qualify as a rookie, with a driver of that standing required to be fielded by every group within the Abu Dhabi take a look at.
Autosport understands that outgoing Haas racer Nico Hulkenberg can also be set to drive within the take a look at for the Sauber group with which he’ll race subsequent yr.
