Formula 1

Sainz presents Williams with "daunting" new challenge - Robson

Carlos Sainz's signing will add much-needed drive to Williams in 2025, says senior engineer Dave Robson

Jake Boxall-Legge Jonathan Noble

Published: Aug 17, 2024, 2:34 PM

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Alex Albon, Williams FW46, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, Logan Sargeant, Williams FW46, the remainder of the field at the start

Williams anticipates that its addition of Carlos Sainz for 2025 will increase the difficulty of making decisions on the pitwall next season with two cars in close proximity, according to head of vehicle performance Dave Robson.

Across the past few seasons, Williams has effectively had one car - George Russell, then Alex Albon - leading the line, while the second car has traditionally been lower down the order.

Thus, the two cars have generally not converged too often on-track, as Nicholas Latifi and Logan Sargeant have often run further back.

Robson feels that the addition of Sainz is reminiscent of his earlier years at Williams, in which the team had both Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas battling for points and podia on a regular basis.

Noting that he expects Sainz to be exacting in his demands of the team, Robson said: "I think there's a couple of things that are going to be a little bit daunting for us as an engineering team.

"There's no doubt that it is great news for us and a real signal of intent and will definitely make things better. I don't really know [Sainz] as an individual, but I do know he has a reputation for really driving everybody very hard to get everything out of the car.

"So he's going to be demanding, I'm sure, which we need, but at the same time I know from my early time at Williams, when we had Felipe and Valtteri, or before that at McLaren, when you've got two drivers who are pushing each other and fighting for the serious points-paying positions, then it becomes much more difficult.

Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

"It's just an order of magnitude more difficult on the pit wall when you've got two cars directly racing each other. There's no reason to think that it's going to end up being bad, definitely not. It's going to end up being good, but it's definitely going to be different to what we've kind of got used to."

Robson added that Williams was looking to use 2025 as a building year to improve its processes further, with the aim of hitting the ground running for the 2026 aerodynamic overhaul.

He noted that this would also give the team an opportunity to understand how Sainz works, with the aim of being on top of both aspects for the start of the new regulations.

"I think with a view to 2026 we've got to use next year as there's a lot of engineering work to do to understand the car better and make the car faster, take what we can into 2026.

"But actually, a lot of the learning process next year will be about understanding Carlos himself, reworking the dynamic of the team trackside and at the factory, to understand how to deal with two drivers who are competing with each other.

"So it's fantastic news, but it's definitely going to shake us up a bit in a good way."

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