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Carlos Sainz has admitted that his ego was “hurt” when it became clear he would not secure a seat with another of F1’s current front-running teams during the ‘silly season’, but the Spaniard is now at “peace” and excited to join Williams.
Sainz entered the 2024 campaign knowing it would be his last for Ferrari, with the Maranello marque deciding over the winter break to bring in seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton for 2025 and beyond.
READ MORE: Sainz insists final races with Ferrari won’t be his last chance of fighting for F1 wins amid Williams move
It meant Sainz had to look elsewhere to further his F1 career and, after months of speculation over where he might end up, a deal was done to join Williams’s rebuilding project under team boss James Vowles.
Asked in an interview with Sky Sports F1 about doors closing at the likes of reigning world champions Red Bull and 2024 race winners Mercedes beforehand, Sainz opened up about his feelings and how he processed the situation.
“I’ve definitely come to peace and I’m a true believer that if I’m not going there, it’s because life just doesn’t want me to be there – there’s something else coming after that that will actually turn out to be good,” he commented.
“It hurt at the time. We all have egos… I have a driver ego and I couldn’t understand it at the time. I still personally cannot understand certain choices that people have done.
“At the same time, it creates even more of a challenge in me, it even makes me more excited for Williams. Williams is the one that has invested in me, that have backed me up from the beginning, the ones that came to me a full year ago.
READ MORE: ‘He’s demanding when he needs to be’ – Sainz’s former race engineer explains what Williams can expect from him
“It actually makes me super excited. I’ve said, ‘I want to give to these guys what they’ve given to me’, give back to them this trust and this belief in me. It gives me good strength. I cannot wait to go there and together with them build something good.”
Indeed, Sainz will soon turn his attention to Williams and working with new team mate Alex Albon – who has spearheaded their charge in recent seasons – to push the Grove outfit up the grid.
“I had a really good experience in McLaren, having this really good camaraderie with Lando [Norris], both being kind of, not number ones, but I was maybe the experienced [driver], he was more the rookie, but we were both pushing each other flat-out,” continued Sainz.
“It’s a similar way to Charles here [at Ferrari], although maybe Charles has always been seen maybe as the future of the project. But I’ve always enjoyed having strong team mates.
READ MORE: ‘Now he’d like another one!’ – Carlos Sainz Sr reflects on son’s emotional Mexico win as Ferrari chapter draws to a close
“I think Alex is going to be a great guy to work with next year, and I think with my experience from Ferrari, I can just probably help Williams to become a better team and work together with Alex to build a strong team like I did in McLaren with Lando.”
Sainz has claimed six pole positions and four race wins during his time at Ferrari, with his most recent examples coming just two events ago at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Ferrari are firmly in the hunt for what would be a first constructors’ title since 2008 with three rounds of the season to go – the Scuderia holding P2 in the standings, just 36 points behind leaders McLaren.
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