Carlos Sainz has voiced that the current amount of testing in Formula 1 “upsets” him, citing that teams should be given a choice to trade time in the simulator for track action.
Sainz is among a large contingent of drivers that have switched teams over the winter, having penned a deal with Williams once he lost his seat with Ferrari to Lewis Hamilton.
However, the Spaniard will venture into the upcoming 24-race campaign with restricted mileage under his belt in the Grove-based team’s new challenger for 2025, the FW47.
With one pre-season test spanning three days preceding the season-opener next month, Sainz has got a day-and-a-half in the car under his belt prior to his Williams debut.
Sainz, who was quickest on the second day, admitted there were certain things he didn’t get the chance to sample that would have eased his adaptation for the opening races.
“I haven’t done as many test items as I wish I could do,” Sainz told media including Motorsport Week.
“I feel like I’m leaving testing with five or six things that I wish I could have tested, wish I could have back-to-back, to know which direction to go for the rest of the season.”
Sainz suggests solution to F1 testing restriction
The ban on in-season testing with current cars was introduced in 2009 as the FIA strived to cut costs, with running limited to filming days with a 200 kilometre threshold.
But with most of the grid boasting state-of-the art simulators, Sainz has suggested that teams should be given a set allocation to share between the virtual and real world.
“There’s no time,” Sainz reiterated. “I’m a bit just upset in general with this rule.
“We spend days and days and days in the simulator.
“It’s just a thought that I have that they could just put into the budget cap whether you want to run a simulator or you want to do testing and you choose where to spend your budget into that.
“At the same time, you might do it for environmental, but you have drivers flying private to the UK and out of Monaco every single day to go to a simulator.
“For me, I don’t understand that side of Formula 1.
“That rule, when they decided to ban testing, they developed 20 million simulators and spent the money in 20 million simulators to don’t go testing.
“It’s a personal thing, it’s not GPDA or anything; I don’t understand where it comes from.
“You could say let’s put 10-12 days of testing limit and each team uses them as they wish in which part of the season.”
F1 testing clampdown limits driver input in development
Sainz, a multiple-time F1 race winner who is aiming to help Williams climb the order, has claimed the situation also reduces how much a driver can assist with development.
“The reality is that with the situation of F1 testing nowadays, everything I tell you here, there’s no testing,” he explained.
“Testing doesn’t exist, which for me I hate it, because it’s exactly where I believe a Formula 1 team can improve the car and a driver can have an input in development.
“But nowadays, testing doesn’t really exist.”
READ MORE – James Vowles highlights initial impact Carlos Sainz has had at Williams
