The F1 driver market continues to surprise with reports of Williams emerging as an unexpected suitor for the services of Carlos Sainz for 2025.
Sainz's future in Formula 1 beyond the current season remains undecided.
While the outgoing Ferrari driver has a long-term and lucrative offer on the table from Audi-Sauber – which would see him race with the Swiss outfit in 2025 and then transition to the German manufacturer’s works team in – the Spaniard seems hesitant to commit.
Audi desires a swift decision from Sainz as they finalize their driver lineup and lay the groundwork for their future F1 endeavors. However, the three-time Grand Prix winner, harboring aspirations of joining a top team like Red Bull or Mercedes, has been reluctant to rush into a decision.
Sainz's hopes of landing a seat at Red Bull or Mercedes seem to be fading. Red Bull appears likely to retain incumbent Sergio Perez for another year, while Mercedes appears to be leaning towards promoting young F2 talent Andrea Kimi Antonelli to Lewis Hamilton’s future vacant seat with the Brackley squad.
But according to a report from Motorsport.com, Williams has entered the picture and is currently well engaged with Sainz’s management as it aims to entice the 29-year-old with their ambitious plans.
Williams already has a solid foundation in place for next season with Alex Albon recently extending his multi-year contract with the outfit, while team boss James Vowles is actively pushing for infrastructure upgrades to improve Williams’ overall performance.
A potential trump card for Williams is their customer engine deal with Mercedes that will continue from 2026. Early rumors suggest that the German manufacturer’s next-generation power unit is showing significant promise, which could be a major draw for Sainz.
Williams team principal James Vowles.
Last weekend at Imola, Vowles openly acknowledged Williams’ strategic approach to the future, with the team prioritizing long-term development, even if it comes at the expense of immediate results in the current season, and maximizing its progress over the next few years.
"The 2025 car is in the tunnel, it's as simple as that," said the Briton. “And you're doing that to get ahead of yourself in time for actually 2026 and 2027.
“All the way through, my messaging will continue to be the same: it's not that I don't care about these years [before 2026], but I want us to be successful in the future.
"To do that, I've got to make some pretty harsh decisions in order to transform the organisation."
As for Sainz, the Scuderia charger isn’t giving anything away regarding his current talks but hinted that things could move quickly at some point.
"Behind the scenes I know more," he said. "You have the rumours and everything, but don't worry, I'm not going to let slip anything.
"I'm going to just put all the options on the table and make the right decision. I can just tell you that, once I open my mind up, everything will happen very quickly. It's all about putting everything together that I feel like I need on my next new contract."
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