Why Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton face similar challenges after switching teams. Carlos Sainz discusses the challenges of adapting to the Mercedes engine.

Carlos Sainz’s move from Ferrari to Williams has turned out to be more complicated than expected due to some substantial differences, which required the Spanish driver a certain amount of adaptation time.

After spending the last four years of his career at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz has joined Williams. However, so far, the car fielded by Williams in the early part of the 2025 season does not seem to suit the driving style of the Spanish driver. In an interview, Carlos Sainz explained the main differences between Ferrari and Williams that made adapting to the FW47 more complicated than expected.

The differences
“The Mercedes engine is probably the biggest change I’ve had to deal with after moving to Williams,” said Carlos Sainz. “Aerodynamics and suspension are one thing: you change them and everything feels different. But when they change the engine, that’s when you really feel big differences. I feel very marked differences compared to Ferrari.”

“There are also aspects related to the way the team works—with upshifts, downshifts, the sequences and the way they make the engine work—which, as seen in Australia, gave me a hard time. At the same time, though, you almost need to go through these experiences to understand that this only happens with the Mercedes engine and not with the Ferrari one. It’s interesting: it’s a significant change and it’s incredible how two power units can be so different, despite having such similar performance.”

“So yes, I’m trying to give the team—and Mercedes—good feedback on what I think Ferrari did better, and at the same time give input on what they, in turn, do better than Ferrari. We’re all trying to improve.”

Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz: a shared challenge?
Just as the Spaniard had to adapt to the Mercedes engine after years of experience with the Ferrari one, Lewis Hamilton has also faced a similar challenge, switching to Ferrari after twelve years with Mercedes.

“I had never used engine braking in the last twelve years, but here it’s used a lot to help the car turn,” confessed the seven-time world champion. “Sometimes I think all of us drivers get too fixated: ‘I have to keep driving the way I always have, just trying to adapt the car a little to me,’ but that’s not how it works.”