Carlos Sainz ready to ‘push flat-out in Australia’ after topping Day 2 of testing in Sakhir

Carlos Sainz was left satisfied with his running on Day 2 of 2025 pre-season testing in Bahrain, with the Spaniard pleased with the progress made by Williams relative to Day 1 after ending Thursday at the top of the timesheets.

While most teams chose to swap drivers between the morning and afternoon sessions, Sainz stayed behind the wheel of the FW47 throughout the day and subsequently achieved the highest lap count of the field with his tally of 127 tours around the Bahrain International Circuit.

There were changing conditions at the venue across Thursday – with light drizzle falling at times – and Sainz suffered a spin at one stage during the afternoon.

It looked outwardly to be a mostly smooth day for the 30-year-old, however, with his best lap of 1m 29.348s proving to be the fastest of the day.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 27: Carlos Sainz of Spain driving the (55) Williams FW47 Mercedes on — Sainz ended Day 2 of pre-season testing in Bahrain at the top of the timesheets

Reflecting on his running in a Williams debrief video, Sainz commented: “I just finished a very long day here in Bahrain – a lot of laps, a bit of a stop-start day with the rain all the time, in Bahrain which is weird!

“[There was] rain on-off, wind on-off. It was a bit of a complicated day, a very long day but a day that we managed to get away with it, do a lot of laps, improvise a bit the run plan as we were moving on, and we managed to complete the whole programme.

AS IT HAPPENED: All the action from Day 2 of 2025 pre-season testing in Bahrain

“We did some progress relative to yesterday, improving the balance of the car and improving the overall feeling with the car.”

With Alex Albon taking over driving duties for the third and final day of pre-season testing on Friday, Sainz will now have to wait until the first race of the season – the Australian Grand Prix on March 14-16 – to get behind the wheel again.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 27: Carlos Sainz of Spain driving the (55) Williams FW47 Mercedes looks — Sainz was at the wheel of the FW47 throughout the day

“That is my last day so the next thing for me is Australia, which feels like not enough testing,” Sainz added. “I wish we could try a lot more things but this is Formula 1 nowadays. Anyway, I feel as ready as I can be with a day and a half of testing, and we will try and push flat-out in Australia.”

Chief Engineer Dave Robson also spoke of the "solid platform" that Sainz and the team had developed during Thursday, commenting: "Despite the unusual sight of rain falling in Bahrain, we were able to complete most of the intended programme without issue.

"The car ran reliably again, which is testament to its design and the efforts of all those involved in building it, including the team of mechanics here at the track that work through the nights to prepare the car and the test items.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 27: Alexander Albon of Thailand and Williams, is interviewed in the — Albon will get a full day's running in the FW47 for the final day of pre-season testing on Friday

"Carlos drove the full day today and was able to build on his experience from yesterday to explore more of what the FW47 can do. Rather than complete a race simulation, we chose a higher fuel level to complete running, which gave us a chance to experiment with set-up and tyre management.

"The car was working reasonably well today but we know that there will be significant differences between our run plan and that of our competitors. We are well aware that the final timesheet is not representative of how qualifying will play out in Melbourne.

"Alex will take over tomorrow and can build on a very solid platform that Carlos and his team have evolved today. We expect it to be dry and warmer tomorrow but with some challenging wind gusts, which will provide another set of conditions in which to test the FW47."