Carlos Sainz, the driver ditched by Ferrari to make way for Lewis Hamilton, believes his old team could now be even better placed to return to the summit of Formula One with the former world champion on board. Hamilton joined Ferrari from Mercedes, with the 40-year-old set to make his debut for the Italian giants at next month’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix as he goes in search of a record-breaking eighth drivers’ world title.

Sainz made way for Hamilton’s move, with the 30-year-old Spaniard now lining up for Williams instead in Melbourne on March 16 after spending three years driving alongside Charles Leclerc at Ferrari.

But Sainz, speaking at British team Williams’s 2025 launch at Silverstone on Friday, said: “When I left, I did feel that both Ferrari and Charles were ready to fight for a world championship, and with Lewis joining that is only going to increase.

“I have never been team-mates with Lewis so I don’t know what he is capable of doing. I have never seen his data. I have seen Charles’s data and I know how good he is. 

“The only way you can evaluate a driver is when you are a team-mate and you see what they are capable of doing.

“But when I look at Lewis’s results and his background, and what he has achieved, I can only say that there will be a very high chance that he is going to be competitive for Ferrari.”

Hamilton is set to unveil his new Ferrari at the Formula One season launch at the O2 Arena in London on Tuesday before heading to the team’s Maranello headquarters the next day, where he is due to speak to the media for the first time as a Ferrari driver.

Williams finished a lowly ninth in the 2024 constructors standings but Sainz insists he can help revive the fortunes of the nine-time champions.

“I believe I bring a lot of knowledge, a lot of things you know, that I think could be applied to this car and to the team at the same time,” said Sainz. 

“I see a team that is ready also to fight for wins. It’s just a matter of getting everything around the team to make sure we’re giving also all the engineers and all the mechanics and the drivers the right tools to compete at the highest level.”

Sainz, a winner of four Grand Prix, will team-up alongside Alex Albon at Williams for the new 24-round season, with the 28-year-old London-born driver relishing the competition. 

“I am going up against someone (Sainz) who has got a big reputation, has just come from a very strong year, possibly his best in Formula One, so that is a great challenge to have and a positive outlook for me,” Albon said. 

“I believe in myself and I am happy to go up against anyone.”

Charles Leclerc ended the 2024 F1 season on a high note, leading the post-season test at the Yas Marina Circuit for Ferrari. Leclerc set the fastest lap, edging out former teammate Carlos Sainz, who impressed in his Williams debut, and Mercedes’ George Russell, who claimed third. The nine-hour test featured both rookies and regular drivers, with teams experimenting with different setups and testing Pirelli’s homologated 2025 tyres. While teams like Ferrari and Mercedes worked to refine their packages, the focus was also on significant driver transitions.

Carlos Sainz, in his first outing with Williams, made an early impact by topping the morning session. Building on a brief filming run the day before, Sainz adjusted quickly to his new surroundings, finishing just a tenth behind Leclerc by the end of the day.

McLaren, fresh off a strong outing in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, divided their test duties between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Norris finished 16th during his morning stint, with Piastri slotting in a few places lower after taking over in the afternoon. Both drivers focused on testing new components rather than outright lap times.

Red Bull welcomed Yuki Tsunoda for his first test with the main team after several seasons at AlphaTauri. Tsunoda completed valuable mileage, finishing in the midfield, as Red Bull continued refining their 2024 car for further dominance next year.

Williams, aside from Sainz’s headline-grabbing debut, also fielded rookie Luke Browning, who showcased promise by completing solid laps and slotting into the top 12.

The day was not just about seasoned drivers. Mercedes’ highly anticipated junior, Kimi Antonelli, continued his preparations for a future F1 debut, while Williams and McLaren also worked with their younger reserves to test future talent.

Carlos Sainz seized pole position for Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix with a consummate performance for Ferrari in Saturday’s qualifying session, outpacing Red Bull’s defending champion Max Verstappen. The Spaniard, who leaves the team at the end of the season, clocked one minute and 15.946 seconds to beat series leader and three time champion Verstappen, whose first and fastest lap in the top 10 shoot-out was deleted, by 0.225 seconds. This left McLaren’s Lando Norris, who is 57 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ title race, to take third ahead of Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari and the Williams of George Russell and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. 

It was Sainz’s sixth career pole and completed a run of qualifying fourth, third and second in the last three Mexican events. 

“I am very happy with that and to be on pole,” said Sainz, who is set to leave Ferrari for Williams next year, having been replaced for 2025 by Hamilton.

“I had a great couple of laps and it is very difficult here with lots of sliding. My laps were almost identical and perfect. It is such a tricky circuit!”

Verstappen, who had an engine change on his car following problems on Friday, said: “I felt under pressure and I was playing catch-up especially after losing my first lap time.

“That just gave more pressure and I am very happy to be on the front row. I didn’t think it was possible. This is one of the hardest tracks to get things right.”

Norris said he was satisfied with third.

“Honestly, I’m pretty happy as I struggled to get more in my final two laps. Carlos was very quick all weekend, but I’m happy with third. Ferrari look very strong.”

Kevin Magnussen was seventh for Haas, the team’s best qualifying result in Mexico, ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Williams’ Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg in the second Haas. 

Luckless Perez

The Sauber drivers were first out as Q1 began in warmer conditions than those for final practice with a track temperature of 45 degrees and the air at 22. 

In the rarefied atmosphere, this was likely to affect performances of tyres and engines.  

Both Ferraris went top before Norris, and then Verstappen took control. 

Perez, struggling with his brakes, was 1.5 seconds adrift in 14th.

As the track improved, the times tumbled with Stroll briefly fourth and Gasly second ahead of Hulkenberg. 

Switching to softs, in search of more pace and grip, Piastri, who was fastest for McLaren in FP3, fought to progress and slumped to 19th ahead of Red Bull’s Perez with two minutes to go – while Norris leapt to the top of the times. 

In the final seconds, big improvements by others left Piastri and Perez in the drop zone – a surprise to many and a shock to the Mexicans’ huge following at the circuit. 

Perez wound up 18th to extend his miserable run and was eliminated along with Williams’ Franco Colapinto in 16th, Piastri 17th, Esteban Ocon of Alpine and Sauber’s Zhou Gruanyu. 

For the luckless Perez, it was his worst starting slot in nine Mexican Grands Prix.

“It’s very difficult with this car – I can’t attack the corner into braking,” said Perez. 

“I went off at Turn 12 and beached it on the kerb,” said Piastri.

“And that was it. So frustrating… a poor mistake to make.”

Alex Albon led the way for Q2, with Verstappen setting the early pace before Norris took command as RB’s Yuki Tsunoda locked up and crashed at Turn 12, bringing out red flags. He was unhurt. 

This meant he and team-mate Liam Lawson were out along with Aston Martin’s two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, in his 400th Grand Prix, and Lance Stroll and Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas.

Verstappen setting the pace in the top-10 final session with a sizzling early lap in 1:16.368, more than half a second quicker than Norris, but the Dutchman’s lap was deleted for exceeding track limits. 

That left Ferrari to take control with Sainz on top in 1:16.055.

Fortunately, Red Bull had another set of softs available for Verstappen’s second run.

In a frantic finale, Sainz improved his time to resist Verstappen’s best effort with Norris lining up third, unable to break into the front row.

McLaren’s Lando Norris beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to pole position Saturday for the Singapore Grand Prix in a dramatic qualifying session red-flagged when Carlos Sainz crashed. Norris’s lap of 1min 30.002sec was 0.155sec quicker than Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton was third ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell. “It was good enough for pole and I’m happy with that, especially here in Singapore,” said Norris, who is aiming to close a 59-point deficit to Verstappen in the drivers’ championship. “A good feeling. I’ve felt good all weekend, I’ve felt confident, maybe not so much in qualy but we got the job done,” added the Englishman.

But it was a disastrous Q3 for Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Sainz, the winner in Singapore 12 months ago, who will start down in ninth and 10th on the grid.

Sainz’s back end snapped out on the final bend sending him spinning into the barriers and halting Q3 with just over eight minutes remaining, leaving most drivers just one shot at a qualifying lap.

Leclerc then had his only lap time deleted for breaching track limits at turn two.

Verstappen had only been 15th fastest in practice on Friday, so the Dutchman was pleased to be alongside his main title rival at the head of the grid.

“I’m happy to be on the front row if you look at where we came from yesterday,” said Verstappen.

“Tomorrow is a bit difficult to say, in Singapore a lot of things can happen, but at least we have a shot at it like this.”

Hamilton had also struggled in practice but managed to put a great lap together when it mattered.

“Qualifying has been a disaster for me all year long and I’ve been working, working and working trying to get myself back up there,” said seven-time world champion Hamilton.

“All of a sudden the car came alive for the first time in qualifying in a long time.

“I hope we’re in a good position to fight for the front tomorrow.”

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was fifth fastest and Nico Hulkenberg of Haas will start alongside him on the third row.

Fernando Alonso was seventh in an Aston Martin, with Yuki Tsunoda eighth in the RB.

Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez failed to make it to the shootout for pole position and will start from 13th on the grid.

Along with Perez, the other drivers who failed to get out of Q2 were the Williams pair of Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto, Kevin Magnussen in a Haas and Esteban Ocon (Alpine).

Daniel Ricciardo — who is rumoured to be driving in F1 for the last time for RB — was in the bottom five who were earlier eliminated in Q1.

Also failing to make it to Q2 were Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, Pierre Gasly in an Alpine and the Sauber pair of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.

Max Verstappen will look for an improved personal and team performance this weekend when Red Bull seek to stop the rot and stay on top in the Formula One title race at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. After a run of six races without a win that has coincided with the revival of his rivals, the Dutchman arrives in Baku with a 62-point lead in the drivers’ championship ahead of Lando Norris. His team’s advantage ahead of McLaren has also been trimmed to only eight points.

Verstappen’s and Red Bull’s last victory, his 61st, came at the Spanish Grand Prix in June while team-mate Sergio Perez last won on the streets of Baku, claiming his sixth career triumph and second in Azerbaijan in last year’s race.

Red Bull’s supreme domination that has seen them leading the constructors’ championship for more than two years, since the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix, will end if McLaren outscore them by nine points on Sunday.

In the aftermath of Aston Martin’s glossy unveiling of Red Bull’s star designer Adrian Newey as future managing technical partner on Tuesday, another defeat to knock them off the top could be seen as significant.

Both Verstappen and Mexican Perez have been busy working on finding solutions to their slump in form since Charles Leclerc claimed victory for Ferrari at Monza on September 1.

“Monza was a tough race for us and it is our priority to get our form back to where it needs to be,” said Verstappen.

“We always want to be more competitive and the team has been working hard on the issues we’ve had.”

“We’ve had a good period of reflection and work since the last race,” said Perez. “Both Max and I have been in the factory working to ensure we are finding a fix for the problems.

“To get back to where we should be on the grid, it will take a team effort and you can see that every day in Milton Keynes. This has pulled us all together.”

Perez leaning on Baku memories

Perez finished eighth at Monza, two places behind three-time world champion Verstappen, while both Ferraris, both McLarens and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton filled the top five.

After a season of much speculation about his future at Red Bull following a string of poor results, he welcomes the return to a venue he likes.

He is the only two-time winner in Baku and has scored more points there than any other driver.

“Personally, I love to race there,” he said. “Street circuits suit my style and Baku is a fun track.”

Ferrari will also be filled with hope in Baku after their success with an upgraded car at Monza where revisions to the floor and other areas proved successful.

But team chief Fred Vasseur stressed that the team will be focused on consistency and not checking the championship standings this weekend as they chase down Red Bull and McLaren.

“We have to focus on doing a good job every weekend and if something has to come to us, it will come. It’s no good to focus on the championship and be conservative… everything can change so much from one week to the next.”

With McLaren and Mercedes both claiming wins in recent races, a close scrap on the fast and challenging street track is in prospect, with Ferrari’s reserve driver Oliver Bearman replacing Kevin Magnussen alongside Nico Hulkenberg at Haas.

Dane Magnussen has been banned after accumulating 12 penalty points.

Charles Leclerc won the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday to delight Ferrari’s massed ranks of fans as Lando Norris again chipped away at struggling champion Max Verstappen’s lead in the Formula One drivers’ standings. Monegasque Leclerc claimed victory at Monza for the second time after winning in 2019, holding off McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Norris in a thrilling race in which Verstappen finished nearly 38 seconds off the pace in sixth. Huge roars engulfed the stands as Leclerc took the chequered flag for his second win over the season, after his own home Monaco GP, after holding out on a set of hard tyres he had changed during his one and only pit stop on the 16th lap.

“I thought that the first time would feel like this and the second time wouldn’t feel as special,” said Leclerc as he basked in the cheers of fans who made the track a joyous, noisy sea of red after the race.

“But my god the emotions in the last few laps; Monaco and Monza are the two races I want to win every year and I’ve managed to win them this year. It is so, so special.”

All of Leclerc’s major rivals, apart from teammate Carlos Sainz who ended up finishing fourth ahead of his Ferrari replacement Lewis Hamilton, pitted twice and McLaren were hoping that the Ferrari pair would do the same.

Instead Leclerc managed to keep his tyres in good enough condition to stay ahead and in the end finish the race comfortably in front of Piastri, who had taken the race lead early on after an overtake manoeuvre on Norris which was as daring as it was tactically questionable.

“Not going to lie it hurts a lot. I did a lot of things right today,” said Australian Piastri.

“Happy with the race, the pace I achieved but when you finish second it hurts.”

Verstappen woes

Briton Norris — who clocked the fastest lap right at the end — will be disappointed by his finish after starting on pole but he managed to chop Verstappen’s championship lead to 62 points with eight races remaining as his Dutch rival’s barren run continued.

“We considered (pitting once) the whole race but it was impossible with our graining. Just disappointed. Ferrari did a better job, so hats off to them,” said Norris.

Verstappen has now failed to win any of the last six GPs after claiming the honours in seven of the first 10, and his and Red Bull’s dominance of F1 looks increasingly in question.

A fourth straight world title looked a near certainty when Verstappen won in Spain back in June, but since then he has only finished on the podium twice.

And his teammate Sergio Perez finishing in eighth meant that McLaren are now only eight points behind Red Bull in the constructor’s standings and look favourites to win it for the first time since 1998.

Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto, who replaced axed Logan Sargeant for Williams following his disastrous showing at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, finish in 12th in his F1 debut.

Earlier Leonardo Fornaroli became the first Italian to win the F3 title, the 19-year-old doing so without winning a single race in this year’s championship.

Trident driver Fornaroli overtook Australian Christian Mansell on the final corner of the 10-race season to grab third place and snatch the title from Gabriele Mini by two points.

Gabriel Bortoleto won the F2 race in dramatic fashion after starting last on the grid, cutting Isack Hadjar’s lead at the top of the stands to just 10.5 points with three races remaining in the season.

Carlos Sainz announced Monday that he had signed a two-year deal to race for Williams starting from the 2025 season amid what he said was an “exceptionally complex” market for Formula One drivers. The 29-year-old Spaniard will leave Ferrari at the end of the 2024 campaign after seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was announced as his replacement at the Italian giants earlier this year. Sainz has won three F1 races so far in his career, the most recent at the Australian Grand Prix in March.

Having previously driven for Toro Rosso, Renault and McLaren, Sainz had been linked with several teams for the 2025 season including Alpine, Sauber and Mercedes.

But on Monday it was confirmed he had agreed an initial two-year deal at Williams, with an option to extend.

“I am very happy to announce that I will be joining Williams Racing from 2025 onwards,” Sainz said in a team statement.

“It is no secret that this year’s driver market has been exceptionally complex for various reasons and that it has taken me some time to announce my decision.”

He added: “However, I am fully confident that Williams is the right place for me to continue my F1 journey and I am extremely proud of joining such a historic and successful team, where many of my childhood heroes drove in the past and made their mark on our sport.

“The ultimate goal of bringing Williams back to where it belongs, at the front of the grid, is a challenge that I embrace with excitement and positivity.”

Sainz will replace Logan Sargeant at Williams, where he will partner Alex Albon.

Founded in 1977 by the late Frank Williams, the team have won nine F1 Constructors’ Championships and seven drivers’ titles, with Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve all crowned world champion while at Williams.

But Williams have struggled in recent seasons and last took a podium finish in 2021, while their last race victory came via Pastor Maldonado’s shock win back at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix.

“Carlos joining Williams is a strong statement of intent from both parties,” said Williams team principal James Vowles.

“Carlos has demonstrated time and again that he is one of the most talented drivers on the grid, with race-winning pedigree, and this underlines the upwards trajectory we are on.”

George Russell is the form man in Formula 1 at the moment, as he grabbed a second pole position in four races to head an all-British top 3 in the British Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday. Russell finished 0.171s ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who qualified P2. McLaren’s Lando Norris slotted in third, despite being the favourite going into qualifying. His teammate Oscar Piastri qualified P5. It was a disappointing day for Max Verstappen by his standards, as he qualified only fourth. But how did Mercedes come out on top?

Wet weather the secret to Mercedes success

Not for the first time in 2024, the Mercedes came alive in cooler conditions. Much like the Canadian GP when Russell grabbed pole, a wet-to-dry qualifying session suited the Mercedes car during qualifying, making them the team to beat on the soft tyre runs.

Championship leader Max Verstappen went off into the gravel in Q1, and a possible loss of downforce from that incident meant that the Dutchman was never really in contention for pole.

With rain on the cards on Sunday, George Russell will be eyeing up a second successive win, after his Austrian GP success last weekend.

Watch out for Hamilton, Norris

Lewis Hamilton is an eight-time winner at Silverstone, and no driver drives the circuit quite like the seven-time world champion. Starting on the front row, Hamilton, for once in 2024, will not have to rue a poor qualifying result.

Lando Norris in the McLaren is likely to also take the fight to the two Silver Arrows. In recent weekends, the McLaren has been the fastest car on raceday.

Day to forget for Ferrari

Ferrari have abruptly fallen behind Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes, proved by the fact that Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas outqualified Carlos Sainz. The day was even worse for Charles Leclerc, who failed to make it to Q3.

Lance Stroll (P8) also outqualified Fernando Alonso (P10) in the Aston Martin team.

Earlier in the day, Sergio Perez beached it in the gravel in Q1, meaning it was yet another Q1 elimination for the Mexican.

British GP Qualifying Top 10: 1. George Russell, 2. Lewis Hamilton, 3. Lando Norris, 4. Max Verstappen, 5. Oscar Piastri, 6. Nico Hulkenberg, 7. Carlos Sainz, 8. Lance Stroll, 9. Alex Albon, 10. Fernando Alonso.

McLaren driver Lando Norris fought right to the end, but it was Max Verstappen who won his seventh race of the season at the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix. The gap between the two drivers were separated by only 2.2 seconds at the chequered flag, after a valiant push from the British driver, to close the gap from more than eight seconds at one point. Mercedes finished third and fourth for the second consecutive race, but this time, Lewis Hamilton grabbed his first Grand Prix podium of 2024.

At the start of the race, George Russell went from fourth to first in the first turn, with an audacious move. Crucially, Verstappen also pipped pole-sitter Norris at the start. The Dutchman would soon overtake Russell on Lap 3, a move that would allow him to manage his pace and tyres at the front.

Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished where they started, coming home in fifth and sixth. Leclerc was less than a second behind Russell at the end.

Home hero Fernando Alonso endured a race to forget, finishing pointless at a disappointing 12th place. 

Russell was ahead of Norris and Hamilton for most of the race. However, Mercedes’ decision to put hard tyres on his final stint proved to be the wrong choice, as he slipped down the podium places.

Sainz also spent most of the race ahead of Leclerc, having overtaken him in Lap 2. However, he also fell victim to the hard tyres.

Oscar Piastri recovered from his worst qualifying of 2024 to finish seventh, while Sergio Perez got eighth. 

And it was a bright day for French constructors Alpine, as both Pierre Gasly (P9) and Esteban Ocon (P10) finished in the points. 

Verstappen continues to lead the championship standings, now going 70 points in front of everyone. Norris, however, has leapfrogged Leclerc to second.

The F1 circus next heads to Austria, for the Austrian GP, on June 30.