Ferrari is doing it differently than Mercedes: The Scuderia is giving Carlos Sainz permission to join his new team for the test drives after the season finale in Abu Dhabi
His successor Lewis Hamilton will not be allowed to take the wheel for Ferrari until 2025 at the earliest, as team principal Fred Vasseur recently told Autosport. The Briton will simply not get approval from Mercedes before the end of his contract at the end of the year.
The situation is quite different with regard to Carlos Sainz, because Ferrari is not standing in the way of the Spaniard: the Scuderia is allowing him to leave in December to test for his new team, Williams!
The traditional Grove-based team announced this on Friday afternoon: “Williams Racing is pleased to announce today that Carlos Sainz will join the team for the upcoming season-ending test in Abu Dhabi, the first steps in his preparation for the 2025 season.”
Sainz will then move from Ferrari to Williams as the regular driver, where he will be team mate to Alex Albon. Franco Colapinto will have to move back into second place, but is currently strongly linked to a move to the Red Bull family – a step that was also on Sainz’s agenda, but then fell through, which is why he signed for Williams for the coming season.
He is now doing his first laps for the new team before the winter break: “This early opportunity will allow Carlos and Williams to start building their relationship,” the team statement said. “The test session will provide Carlos with a valuable chance to begin integrating with his new team environment, and he will drive the FW46 for the first time.”
Test in Abu Dhabi: Other drivers also cleared
The test drives in Abu Dhabi are scheduled for December 10, the Tuesday immediately following the season finale, at the Yas Marina Circuit, and will last only one day. They are officially declared as tire tests for supplier Pirelli.
According to the current regulations, all teams must take part in the tests with both cars, although only one of the two cockpits has to be occupied by a current or future regular driver of the respective racing team.
For example, Alpine newcomer Esteban Ocon will celebrate his premiere for Haas. According to information from Autosport, his predecessor at the US team, Nico Hülkenberg, is also expected to take the wheel for his new team, Sauber.