Carlos Sainz Jr. spent about seven months that he said were “very tough” deliberating over his Formula 1 future.
In January, after three seasons with Ferrari, Sainz was told he would be replaced at the end of this year by Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, the seven-time champion.
Sainz, the only non-Red Bull driver to win a Grand Prix in 2023, in Singapore, said the decision was “a blow” and unexpected.
The driver from Spain was linked with many teams, including Mercedes, Red Bull and Audi, which will make its debut in Formula 1 in 2026. His father, Carlos Sainz Sr., is also a racecar driver and has won the World Rally Championship twice, and he won the Dakar Rally with Audi in January.
It was announced in July that Sainz would drive for Williams, signing a two-year contract, with options to extend. Making the decision was a weight off his mind.
“It’s been a very tough seven months of my career where I had to deal with everything that happened in January, in combination with having to perform and deliver as a Ferrari driver in a high-pressure, high-attention environment, and having to decide my future, talking to so many other teams and analyzing, putting everything on the table,” Sainz said.
“When I made the decision, I wanted to be 100 percent convinced,” he said. “That’s why I gave myself plenty of time, and I chose Williams because it is a team that, from the beginning, I had very good feelings about and very good conversations with. I feel they are a team very committed to Formula 1 with a very strong project for the future and very strong leadership.”
James Vowles, the team principal, said he had an initial conversation with Sainz during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend in November last year, selling him the vision of the project he embarked on with Williams when he started 10 months earlier.
Sainz is joining a team that has won one Grand Prix since 2005 and collected one finish on the podium since 2017. Vowles said he gave Sainz “warts and all” on the future and that was why he decided to join.
“I said to him that here’s what’s going to happen,” Vowles said. “We are going to go backwards. Here’s why. Here’s what we’re investing in. Here’s what’s coming. Here’s why I’m excited about this project, and it’s very much your choice if you want to be a part of it.
“But I know that we will have success in the future, and I know it’s going to cost us in the short term. I’m confident that honesty and transparency paid off.”
Vowles said he was surprised neither Mercedes nor Red Bull pursued Sainz, rating him “as one of the top four drivers, if not, at times, the No. 2 driver on the grid.”
“I needed a leader and a performance-driven machine, and Carlos is both of those things,” Vowles said. “I also needed someone, and Carlos brings this in spades, who is not just here performing the best they can with the car they have available but driving the development of the team and what’s around them. He’s one of the best on the grid for it.”
Sainz said he was unconcerned by being unable to finish on the podium with Williams. His three Grand Prix victories and 21 of his 23 finishes on the podium have been with Ferrari.
“For 2025, I know there might not be wins or podiums, but I still think we can do a good job,” Sainz said. “It’s all about how am I going to help Williams and move their project forward, and that really motivates me.
“I want to feel listened to, that I feel I can help, and in such a historical team like Williams, that has such a clear vision and is super committed to bringing the team back to the front, it’s something that was important for me.
“It is going to be an interesting few years in my career.”
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