Williams aiming for Sainz debut at Abu Dhabi

Williams team principal James Vowles has detailed he is keen to field Carlos Sainz at the post-season test from Abu Dhabi.

Sainz will join Williams next season on a multi-year deal having been ousted at Ferrari in favour of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

The Spaniard will partner Alex Albon and make his race debut for the squad in Australia next season, one year on from his victory at Albert Park.

But Vowles is hopeful of starting his integration with the team early at the traditional post-season test.

“We still have to agree terms with Ferrari, he’s under contract at Ferrari until the end of 2024,” Vowles told media including RacingNews365.

“However, I do hope to see him in the car in Abu Dhabi.”

In 2018, Ferrari allowed Kimi Raikkonen to test for Sauber ahead of his switch to the team the following season.

Vowles addresses commercial value of Sainz arrival

Sainz has joined Williams as the Grove-based squad looks to return to the front of the grid in the years ahead.

While a headliner name such as Sainz will undoubtedly have commercial value for the team, Vowles detailed the biggest boost will come via the pace of the car.

“The real commercial benefit of all F1 teams, by the way, is just performance,” Vowles said.

 “If you make your car quicker, or if you have drivers that push your car, or drivers pushing each other and pushing the car, that in turn provides you championship position and sponsorship income.

“That is the secret sauce of how to run a F1 team: fundamentally you treat it like a startup. You've got to put your finances into a driver, or two drivers, really, in the circumstance that you know will be pushing the team forward.

“It's not like you have immediately, overnight, the phone ringing and someone's offering you 20 million. That's not how it takes place, but it is part of the journey that makes its way through.

“What I can say is we have existing sponsors that we've been talking to for six months, and for them, it may or may not have been the extra trigger that pushes them across the line. But it's not that it's suddenly you take all your deals and you up them by a percentage fundamentally.”