Sainz to Williams

[ajprice]

Williams aiming for minimum weight in 2026...

[Heathwood]

Muzzer79 said:

MitchT said:

There's a seat at a resurgent Mercedes and he goes to Williams. What am I missing?

1 year deal at Mercedes apparently.

If they get Verstappen for ‘26 or Antonelli smashes it in ‘25 wherever he is then Sainz is out on his ear again.

I don’t agree, it’s all about how much stock / value you have. If he was confident he could get the better of Russell, he might have been the one with the contract extension or jumping into a red bull if Max decides to leave.

[TheDeuce]

Muzzer79 said:

MitchT said:

There's a seat at a resurgent Mercedes and he goes to Williams. What am I missing?

1 year deal at Mercedes apparently.

Although.. if he had taken the Merc 1 year deal and beaten GR (not saying I think that's likely or not) then would they have not extended the contract?

He's got as much influence over his future as anyone else has over it, he's a very solid driver.

[RUI488]

LM240 said:

That’s a pretty depressing career move. Still in F1, but he surely can’t be jumping up and down. Unlikely for wins and even less likely for a title.

Think I’d have taken a year at Mercedes or gambled on being part of Audi set up.

But you aren’t an F1 driver.

[thegreenhell]

The potential one year at Mercedes is nothing more than rumour. Nobody would turn down a drive in the car that's won three of the last four races if there was an actual offer on the table, which suggests there wasn't really an offer there.

It also wouldn't look good for Mercedes if they signed Sainz for one year, with Antonelli on a promise for the following year, and yet still chasing after Verstappen as well. They'd potentially end up with four drivers and only two cars, so could lose both of their 2025 drivers to accommodate the two incomers for '26. It's just not the way Mercedes operate. They like stability and continuity.

[MitchT]

If I'd been him I'd have rolled the dice and gone for one year with Merc rather than head straight to the back. I doubt he'd be out of a seat altogether after a year with Merc.

[asfault]

If Antonelli ends up being a dud at mercedes for any reason Carlos would be a shoe in for that seat as a back up?

[Bradgate]

F1 baffles me sometimes, and the longer I watch the sport the less I understand some of the decisions which are made in it.

Red Bull, against all apparent reason are persisting with a complete muppet in their second car whose egregious incompetence is set to cost them the constructors championship. Mercedes are set to promote an unproven schoolboy who has done little in F2 to suggest he is anywhere near ready for F1.

Yet Sainz a proven, experienced, highly respected top driver who would improve either Red Bull or Mercedes next year will be wasting his career trundling round out of the points in a Williams. None of this makes any sense on any level.

[fttm]

Certainly drawn the short straw , there must be a reason behind it which will no doubt come out in due course. He absolutely deserves better than this deal .

[4.7AMV8]

asfault said:

If Antonelli ends up being a dud at mercedes for any reason Carlos would be a shoe in for that seat as a back up?

This in spades. Antonelli proves that F1 was always a step too far or at least a top team was (Albon Red Bull anyone?). Sainz gives some experience to Albon (not that he really needs it now) for a year, keeping Sainz current, then swap over to Mercedes for 26 and Antonelli to Williams.

[TheDeuce]

fttm said:

Certainly drawn the short straw , there must be a reason behind it which will no doubt come out in due course. He absolutely deserves better than this deal .

I think there just wasn't an open seat anywhere else that was better than Williams. I'm assuming that Merc was essentially committed to Antonelli as their preference already.

Another potential way of looking at it is that at Williams, he's sort of inline for mercedes if Antonelli doesn't work out well in his first year.

It's a shame he has to leave Ferrari in the first place tbh. He's done a great job there.

[carinaman]

Thanks, I read it here. I didn't know it had been announced.

[Diderot]

fttm said:

Certainly drawn the short straw , there must be a reason behind it which will no doubt come out in due course. He absolutely deserves better than this deal .

But financially it might be a great deal in the short term, and with advantageous break clauses if the 2025 car doesn't prove to be any more competitive than this year's car (which it probably won't). Hopefully it's a 1+1 or some such, so that if it something else opens up for '26 - an Aston or Red Bull seat for example - and in the case of the former they were significantly ahead of Williams in '25 - he could jump ship.

I think '26 will probably be a major reset for all teams. Look at what happened to Merc for example - crushingly dominant for almost a decade and then comparatively nowhere for 2 years with the regulation change. Also look at McLaren and how they have managed to turn around their dog of a car since Austria last year. Things can change quickly in F1.

[thegreenhell]

Diderot said:

But financially it might be a great deal in the short term, and with advantageous break clauses if the 2025 car doesn't prove to be any more competitive than this year's car (which it probably won't). Hopefully it's a 1+1 or some such, so that if it something else opens up for '26 - an Aston or Red Bull seat for example - and in the case of the former they were significantly ahead of Williams in '25 - he could jump ship.

I think '26 will probably be a major reset for all teams. Look at what happened to Merc for example - crushingly dominant for almost a decade and then comparatively nowhere for 2 years with the regulation change. Also look at McLaren and how they have managed to turn around their dog of a car since Austria last year. Things can change quickly in F1.

Also look at what happened to Williams at the start of the hybrid era. They went from 9th with 5 points to their name in 2013 to 3rd with 320 points in 2014, largely from being aligned with the right engine manufacturer at the start of a major engine rules change.

2026 is likely to see a major shakeup, with probably at least one engine manufacturer and several teams getting it very wrong for the first year, such is the degree of change in both engines and chassis regs.

[Hustle_]

I remember listening to Sainz' 'Beyond the Grid' interview. He seemed pretty scarred by the early years of his F1 career in the Toro Rosso and Renault teams which were both turbulent for different reasons and he never really felt the love. His stints at Mclaren and Ferrari have proven that he can do a great job in a stable environment. He's another one of those drivers who didn't have the early breakthroughs in his career to catapult him to the top of the shortlists of the top teams, and he remains underrated. It's not a great surprise to me that he hasn't taken a wildcard one-year deal somewhere- he's still got a lot of seasons ahead of him at 29-going-on-30 and needs stability and time to build. It must've meant a lot to him to have James Vowels was making public overtures towards him specifically and offering a partnership through 2026.

[LittleBigPlanet]

Absent details of the other (if any) offers that were on the table, this seems like a good outcome--working with James Vowles could be fruitful and Sainz has always performed best with stability. I think we'll see Williams improving >2026.

[RUI488]

Bradgate said:

F1 baffles me sometimes, and the longer I watch the sport the less I understand some of the decisions which are made in it.

Red Bull, against all apparent reason are persisting with a complete muppet in their second car whose egregious incompetence is set to cost them the constructors championship. Mercedes are set to promote an unproven schoolboy who has done little in F2 to suggest he is anywhere near ready for F1.

Yet Sainz a proven, experienced, highly respected top driver who would improve either Red Bull or Mercedes next year will be wasting his career trundling round out of the points in a Williams. None of this makes any sense on any level.

Have you heard of the word ‘politics’ … ?

[Dingu]

Weird amount of negativity. Williams seem to have some forward momentum, not something that can be said about any other team outside the top 4 teams. RB are the closest to making progress and they are always going to be hobbled by being a B team.

McLaren were back marking a couple of years ago so if the project is in place it’s not impossible that they are much closer to the front next year or even more so in ‘26.

As for the comment about only Albon makes the car look midfield…. If Sainz is as good as stated then he will be midfield in it. Or, they will be a midfield team.

[TheDeuce]

Dingu said:

Weird amount of negativity. Williams seem to have some forward momentum, not something that can be said about any other team outside the top 4 teams. RB are the closest to making progress and they are always going to be hobbled by being a B team.

McLaren were back marking a couple of years ago so if the project is in place it’s not impossible that they are much closer to the front next year or even more so in ‘26.

As for the comment about only Albon makes the car look midfield…. If Sainz is as good as stated then he will be midfield in it. Or, they will be a midfield team.

I don't think it's weird. He made his way to Ferrari and to my mind drove as well overall as Leclerc - on the basis I assume Leclerc gets the odd bit of favourable treatment, first upgrades and strategy etc. He's lost that seat irrespective of basically faultless performance and is now headed to a team that is not on the same level at all.

I do think it's not all that bad, Williams will likely improve and he's still kind of in line for a Merc drive down the line. But Williams are not Ferrari.

[Dingu]

TheDeuce said:

Dingu said:

Weird amount of negativity. Williams seem to have some forward momentum, not something that can be said about any other team outside the top 4 teams. RB are the closest to making progress and they are always going to be hobbled by being a B team.

McLaren were back marking a couple of years ago so if the project is in place it’s not impossible that they are much closer to the front next year or even more so in ‘26.

As for the comment about only Albon makes the car look midfield…. If Sainz is as good as stated then he will be midfield in it. Or, they will be a midfield team.

I don't think it's weird. He made his way to Ferrari and to my mind drove as well overall as Leclerc - on the basis I assume Leclerc gets the odd bit of favourable treatment, first upgrades and strategy etc. He's lost that seat irrespective of basically faultless performance and is now headed to a team that is not on the same level at all.

I do think it's not all that bad, Williams will likely improve and he's still kind of in line for a Merc drive down the line. But Williams are not Ferrari.

To be honest, based on the last 20 ish years it wouldn’t surprise me if Williams win something before Ferrari!

Only slightly tongue in cheek.

ETA: WDC or WCC not a race!

Edited by Dingu on Tuesday 30th July 08:24