Carlos Sainz says he used his final laps in a Ferrari during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to prepare himself to be able to compare cars once he jumped into the Williams for testing.
Ferrari has allowed Sainz to take part in the post-race Pirelli tire test on Tuesday for Williams, and that was preceded by a filming day on Monday where he could complete limited mileage on demonstration tires. Sainz insists the transition into his next chapter is not something he envisages being particularly difficult because he was already thinking about how he could take learnings to Williams.
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“Being very honest with you, I don’t think (it’ll be hard),” Sainz said after Sunday’s race. “I’m not going to lie, my last laps, as much as I was pushing like hell for (Ferrari) and trying, I was already starting to feel things in the car and trying to say, remember how this feels. because (on Monday) and Tuesday I need to remember why is this car quick in this corner and why does it feel good?
“Because I know probably what I’m going to find (on Monday) and Tuesday needs some margin of improvement in the corners that I was feeling the car. So this just sums up that I’m already looking also ahead. I’m extremely motivated for the challenge that I have ahead of me.
“(Sunday) is a day to try and enjoy as much as possible with the team as my last day in red. We still have some days in Maranello coming up, but obviously my competitive mind is already looking forward to Monday and Tuesday and to see how I can make that Williams car faster.”
Sainz followed his filming day with the highest total of any single driver during Tuesday’s Pirelli test, completing 146 laps and setting the second fastest time behind former teammate Charles Leclerc, after spending the majority of the day at the top of the standings.