Sainz: Ferrari exit won’t mean end of chances of winning in F1

Carlos Sainz says that nothing would make him happier than achieving one final victory with Ferrari before departing the Italian outfit.

But the Spaniard is convinced that his upcoming move to Williams won’t mark the end of his chances to compete for wins in Formula 1.

Sainz is set to join the Grove-based outfit in 2025, where he’ll partner with Alexander Albon as Ferrari replaces him with Lewis Hamilton.

Despite Williams not being in contention for race victories in recent seasons, Sainz is optimistic and excited about the future in light of the team’s ongoing improvements.

“I’m really looking forward to next year and the challenge with Williams,” he told the media ahead of this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix.

“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.”

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For Sainz, it’s been a memorable four-year tenure with the House of Maranello, marked by his three career wins in F1, including his triumph earlier this in Melbourne. But with five races left on the docket, the 30-year-old would love nothing more than to add a fourth and final victory with the Scuderia.

“Nothing would make me happier than achieving something like that before the end of the year,” he said. “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, I don’t believe it will be my last chance of fighting for wins or podiums in Formula 1.

“I’ll remain working hard to try to get myself in a position, even if it’s with Williams or in the 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. It doesn’t end there.”

Williams has recently gained momentum, scoring 13 points in the last four races with the addition of rookie Franco Colapinto. Sainz has been reassured by team principal James Vowles’ plans for the future and the progress the team has already shown.

“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,” Sainz explained. “And, so far, he’s been a man of his word and his expectations.”

Reflecting on his decision to join Williams, Sainz emphasized that the key factor wasn’t solely based on the team’s short-term performance gains.

“As I said, 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 organisation and not so much about the short-term performance gains that they were getting.”

For Sainz, it was the team’s professionalism and vision that ultimately convinced him to join Williams.

“Definitely what convinced me more than the downforce they were going to add or where the team was going to be in six months, one year’s time, was the people and the professionalism and the vision of the project that they had. This was the main differentiator to me,” he said.

With just a handful of races remaining, Sainz is keen to leave his mark with Ferrari but looks forward to the exciting challenge ahead at Williams.

Confident in his ability to win again, Sainz’s journey in Formula 1 is far from over as he eyes future successes with his new team.

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