SAINZ MAKES EARLY SWITCH TO WILLIAMS FOR F1 TESTING

Carlos Sainz has already shut the door on his time at Ferrari.

The day after his final race with the red team, where he finished third, he was on track at Abu Dhabi with Williams in a private run under the 'filming session' regulations which allow several short runs through a season.

It was a totally private event and Sainz drove in a plain white helmet, although the Williams did carry his #55 for the first time.

Sainz' run was the prelude to some frantic on-track action as all teams complete their final running of season 2024 in an official post-season test.

The event is double-edged, as it is an official Pirelli tyre test and also a chance for teams to run their 'junior' drivers.

Most will run one of their regular race drivers for the first session, including Jack Doohan at Alpine and Oscar Piastri at McLaren, with young drivers in the second hit-out.

There are some surprises, with Yuki Tsunoda taking over at Red Bull – although apparently satisfying a commitment from earlier in the year; and Oliver Bearman missing out entirely because he raced at two GPs in 2024.

Apart from Sainz, the test will also see Nico Hulkenberg having his first hit-out with Sauber after leaving Haas and Esteban Ocon joining Haas after leaving Alpine.

One driver who will not be on track is Lewis Hamilton, who is committed to Mercedes-AMG until December 31 and will not be seen in a Ferrari until 2025.

The full list of runners at Abu Dhabi is:

ALPINE: Jack Doohan - Paul Aron

ASTON MARTIN: Lance Stroll - Felipe Drugovich/Jak Crawford

FERRARI: Charles Leclerc - Antonio Fucco/Arthur Leclerc

HAAS: Esteban Ocon - Ryo Hirakawa

McLAREN: Oscar Piastri - Pato O'Ward

MERCEDES: George Russell - Kimi Antonelli

RB: Liam Lawson - Ayumu Iwasa

RED BULL: Yuki Tsunoda - Isack Hadjar

SAUBER: Nico Hulkenberg - Gabriel Bortoleto

WILLIAMS: Carlos Sainz - Luke Browning