Carlos Sainz Sr says he will “never forget” the experience of appearing alongside his son in a ‘farewell test’ at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track.

It comes as Carlos Sainz Jr gears up for his first season as a Williams driver in F1 2025 having been forced to make way for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.

Carlos Sainz Sr opens up on emotional Ferrari farewell test

Sainz was informed last winter that his Ferrari contract would not be renewed beyond 2024, with the Scuderia confirming the signing of seven-time World Champion Hamilton on a multi-year deal.

It created the unusual situation of Sainz spending the entire F1 2024 campaign with Ferrari in the knowledge that they would be parting ways at the end of the year.

Sainz responded by producing his most complete F1 season to date, bouncing back from appendicitis to win in Australia before collecting a fourth career victory in Mexico.

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The Spaniard has joined Williams on a multi-year contract from F1 2025, with the signing of a driver of Sainz’s calibre regarded as a major coup for the Grove-based team.

Ferrari agreed to release Sainz early from his contract to allow him to represent Williams in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, where he clocked 146 laps and set the second-fastest time behind former team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Sainz returned to Ferrari alongside his father a week later for a special farewell test, with the pair circulating Fiorano together behind the wheel of the F1-75, the car with which he collected his maiden F1 win at the 2022 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Sainz then gave a short speech to a group of Ferrari staff and couldn’t resist a quip about his father’s extraordinary 2024, which started with a fourth victory in the prestigious Dakar Rally and ended with a Ferrari F1 test drive.

Sainz Jr said: “I want to thank you all. You cannot imagine [how much this means]. You have made a grandfather a very happy man today.

“This year, a 62-year-old grandfather tries a Ferrari and wins the Dakar.

“Thanks to you all and see you next year on track!”

Speaking to The Sun, Sainz Sr has opened up about the emotion of bidding farewell to Ferrari and his experience of driving a race-winning grand prix car at Fiorano last month.

He said: “I have no experience in any formula championship, very, very little, so for me it was a big thing.

“I really enjoyed it a lot. The power, the handling, the braking is amazing.

“To have the chance to be there with my son, what Ferrari did for him, and invite me to drive together with him was really fantastic.

“It was an unbelievable day. I will never forget it because we really had good fun and obviously the experience to drive a modern Formula 1 car was unbelievable.”

Sainz Sr’s hopes of a fifth Dakar Rally win ended on Monday following a crash on the second stage of the event.

The 62-year-old’s Ford Raptor rolled and landed on its roof after a jump 327 kilometres into the 48-hour stage on Sunday, damaging the car’s roll cage structure.

Sainz recovered to finish the stage on Monday, using his hand to shield his eyes from the son after his car’s windshield was lost in the accident.

However, the veteran was prevented from taking any further part in the event after officials deemed the damage to the roll cage too severe.

Rules dictate that the roll cage cannot be repaired during the event, with the risk of serious consequences for driver and co-driver Lucas Cruz in the event of a repeat accident too high.

Sainz Sr claimed 26 rally victories during a glittering career in the World Rally Championship, winning the title on two occasions in 1990 and 1992.

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