Sainz says one and a half days of driving is "not enough" in winter testing

Winter testing of F1 took place from February 26 to 28 on the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain. The opportunity for the drivers of the 2025 grid, made up of 30% novices, to carry out their first stints in racing conditions in this season's single-seaters. Carlos Sainz, freshly arrived at Williams et appointed director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, considered as "ridiculously little time spent in the cars before going to the race."

For the son of the Matador, the duration of the tests is far from sufficient to attack the season under the best auspices, especially for the six young drivers joining the premier discipline this year. "Even though I'm not a rookie, this day and a half of testing is frustrating for me, confessed the former teammate of Charles Leclerc on the sidelines of the Bahrain tests. I can't imagine [how difficult it is] for a beginner. I understand how difficult it makes things and how tricky the start of the season will be for some of them."

Learning on the track

Despite the possibility of driving during TPC (Testing of Previous Cars, tests with single-seaters dating back more than two years), it is not worth the experience gained "with a real car that you will drive all year round", said Carlos Sainz. "To be honest, the F1 could make efforts to try to improve the way we do testing, at-il jugé. There are a lot of teams spending endless amounts of money on simulators, drivers flying from Monaco to the UK to get there. I don't understand why we only have three days of testing when all that money could be invested in eight days of testing, maybe."

New recruit Williams has suggested some suggestions for improvement for future appearances. "I don't ask for much, he explained. Eight or ten days where each team chooses their test location. It's good to have a collective test, I think it should stay. My proposal would be to include in the budget a number of days [of testing] as well as a cap for the simulator in order to see where the teams want to spend their money, if it's in the simulator or if it's in the ten days of testing."

Sainz targets simulators

Essential elements of driver preparation, simulators in Formula 1 do not seem to be enough for Sainz. "Beginners would benefit and teams too, because even if the simulators are good, they are not as good as some tend to believe" he revealed. One thing is certain, with these statements, the number 55 shows that he takes seriously his new role as leader within the drivers' association.

ALSO READ > VIDEO – Best moments from winter testing