Williams boss James Vowles has revealed that he is exploring the option to have Carlos Sainz conduct his initial outing with the team in Formula 1’s post-season test.
Sainz will move to Williams on a multi-term deal next season amid Ferrari’s choice to sign seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton to partner incumbent Charles Leclerc.
However, Vowles desires to incorporate Sainz into the Grove-based squad’s operation as soon as possible with the annual post-season test in Abu Dhabi in December.
The traditional curtain raiser at the Yas Marina Circuit enables the teams to sample test parts as well as acclimatise new drivers to their procedures before the winter.
But with drivers’ contracts with their soon-to-be ex-sides running up until the year concludes, Williams must negotiate with Ferrari to allow Sainz to be released earlier.
Vowles has detailed that such a process will commence soon, though, with the hope that the Spaniard can get behind the wheel of Williams’ 2024 machine, the FW46.
“We still have to agree terms with Ferrari, he’s under contract at Ferrari until the end of 2024,” Vowles told media including Motorsport Week.
“However, I do hope to see him in the car in Abu Dhabi.”
Sainz’s impending presence is poised to bring vital sponsorship revenue to Williams, with Santander rumoured as a potential option amid its tie-up with Ferrari ending.
But while Vowles has acknowledged that the three-time race winner will bring commercial benefits, he is adamant that the car’s competitiveness will be more integral.
“The real commercial benefit of all F1 teams, by the way, is just performance,” Vowles explained.
“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.”
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