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F1 | Abu Dhabi Test

Sainz surprises in his first test with Williams

The Spaniard is second, 0.125 seconds behind Leclerc in the Abu Dhabi test and beats Albon's qualifying time by two tenths. 146 laps plus the 'filming day' in two days.

Carlos Sainz (Williams FW-46). Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi. F1 2024.
ALI HAIDEREFE

The emotional pangs of leaving Ferrari lasted one night and the adaptation period to Williams lasted a day and a half. Carlos Sainz set the second best time in the Abu Dhabi tests with the Williams on Tuesday, just a tenth of a second behind Leclerc, with the car that the Spaniard drove until last Sunday.

Sainz impresses on debut

Carlos' time (1:23.635) is already two tenths faster than Albon’s time in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi GP (16th, 1:23:821) and on slightly slower asphalt judging by the general times. And the fastest laps were not long in coming, Sainz led the table during the first seven hours of testing; and in the final ‘happy hour’ he managed to progress to second place and beat the times of Russell and Antonelli with the Mercedes, in addition to Hulkenberg’s lap in his first kilometres with the Sauber.

The FW-46 is a different kind of car. Carlos set the record in the second part, with straights, and it is not a surprise: Williams' best minutes in 2024 came on low-downforce circuits such as Monza and Baku, where they scored 12 of their 17 points in the season that has already ended. At the same time, the third sector was a burden for Sainz throughout the session. It is not new either: Albon and Colapinto were last and second to last in that part in the classification.

In slow corners, the Williams is not a Ferrari. There is still work to be done, although it is true that the Oxford team is short of evolutions and spare parts due to the many and varied serious accidents that its two drivers have been involved in in the last third of the season.

Carlos Sainz (Williams). Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi. F1 2024.
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Carlos Sainz (Williams). Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi. F1 2024.ALI HAIDEREFE

However, it is already a hallmark of Sainz that it has taken him so little time to start to extract the potential of his new car. He has experience, in a decade-long sporting career he has spent time with Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren and Ferrari before arriving at Williams.

After the 200 kilometres of the filming day on Monday, the first with his new team (which served to get ahead on work and readapt his driving skills), he completed 145 laps of Yas Marina on Tuesday. 765 kilometres which double the distance of a Formula 1 race.

As for the rest, 23 drivers took part in the practice sessions because some teams split the programme into two separate sessions. The regular drivers tested Pirelli’s new compounds for 2025, including an experimental C6 that can be used on low-wear street circuits. The youngsters used the 2024 tyres. The constructors' champions, Norris and Piastri, had a lacklustre day without trying to set fast laps.

F1 2024 Abu Dhabi Test Standings

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Otherwise, Ocon debuted the Haas (10th, 0.795 behind Leclerc) already in the new colours of his team, because Alpine effectively fired him; and Bortoleto (18th, 1.228) also debuted with his future car, the Sauber that will be Audi in 2026.

Antonelli was 90 thousandths of a second behind Russell’s lap. The differences, in general, were not huge. There were no interruptions in almost nine hours of testing until a red flag came out eight hours before the end of the gruelling session. Happy holidays.

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