Carlos Sainz has endured a frustrating start to life at Williams. He entered the summer break 16th in the championship, putting him on course for his lowest finish ever.
Sainz will feel this doesn’t reflect the quality of his performances. Alex Albon has scored 77% of the team’s points and sits eighth in the championship.
Speaking last month, Sainz admitted that he missed fighting for pole after racing for Ferrari between 2021 and 2024. He’s qualified sixth three times but only made five Q3 appearances.
Carlos Sainz’s championship position by season
Sainz has also criticised Williams’ execution, which he feels has hurt his points tally. The team as a whole have exceeded expectations, but their star signing hasn’t necessarily felt the benefit.
Carlos Sainz to stay at Williams even though he had the option to leave
There was talk last year that Sainz’s Williams deal included an exit clause allowing him to leave if Mercedes or Red Bull made an approach. Both teams have drivers out of contract for next year.
James Vowles said Sainz could leave at the end of 2026, or trigger an option to extend his deal. Many F1 contracts will feature similar provisions, given that the pecking order could change significantly under the new regulations.
However, Auto Motor und Sport have now confirmed that Sainz’s contract contained an exit clause this year. He had the ‘option to leave’ almost immediately, which indicates some understandable reservations about joining the team who finished ninth in last year’s championship.
However, ‘this will not happen’ in light of Williams’ ‘strong performances’. Despite Sainz’s evident frustration, he still believes in Vowles’ project.
The team who missed a trick by not pursuing Carlos Sainz
In the short term, perhaps Sainz would be an upgrade on Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes. But Toto Wolff couldn’t reach an agreement with Sainz last year, and he’ll feel that Antonelli’s long-term ceiling is higher.
There’s also an argument that Ferrari should re-sign Sainz amid Hamilton’s struggles. However, if any driver has earned the right to patience, it’s the seven-time world champion.
In reality, Red Bull are the team who should have aggressively pursued him. It’s understood that Verstappen’s camp have no issue with Sainz despite previous claims of tension.
A move last season would have been easier to execute, but with Yuki Tsunoda almost certain to lose his seat, Sainz was the best semi-realistic option available. Unfortunately, it seems the window has closed.
Perhaps Sainz would have turned down Red Bull anyway. There’s optimism that Williams will win races by 2028, whereas uncertainty has taken hold at Milton Keynes as the Christian Horner/Honda engine era comes to an end.