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Carlos Sainz has finally made his big Formula 1 driver market decision, picking Williams for 2025 and beyond over the factory Audi and Alpine projects.
But has Sainz made the right move? Does he deserve better after his Ferrari exit and what does it say about Williams, Alpine and Audi?
Our team have their say:
A victory for honest, transparent campaigning
Scott Mitchell-Malm
I'm pleased that Sainz has finally decided - for everyone involved, including us!
This has been quite the saga.
My gut feeling has been, for a while, that Williams was the best choice for Sainz. It has its risks but that's why it's taken so long for him to decide. If there was a standout, mega option then Sainz would have committed long ago.
Williams has a long way to go and Sainz isn't going to get success immediately. But he buys into the long-term strategy enough for this to be a worthwhile commitment that works for team and driver.
It feels like a victory for honest, transparent 'campaigning' and good strategy.
Very happy to announce I'll be joining @WilliamsRacing next season! Excited about the project and the challenges ahead of us! 💪🏻
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) July 29, 2024
Muy contento de poder anunciar que el año que viene me uniré a @WilliamsRacing! Entusiasmado con el proyecto y con los retos que tendremos por… pic.twitter.com/oUg5IexunR
Williams shouldn’t have been able to beat two works teams to Sainz’s signature. Not in a straight fight. So this is partly because Williams appeals and partly because the others don't.
Frankly, Alpine only seemed to bluster its way into contention by Flavio Briatore moving to axe the engine programme and promising short-to-medium-term gains. But the Briatore 'strategy' was probably exposed quite rapidly as having little substance and a huge chance of backfiring.
Audi has been chaotic in its own way. Almost as much as Renault and Alpine. Sauber's dreadful on-track form and Audi's management uncertainty (and recent change) have made it a total no-go, when for ages it felt like favourite to get Sainz on board.
Meanwhile, Vowles has stuck to the same arguments the entire time, hasn’t overpromised as far as we can tell, and has given Sainz a sensible, stable project. Sainz knows what he’s getting at Williams. It's a calculated gamble with an intriguing upside.
Vote of confidence or least-worst option?
Glenn Freeman
Sainz and Alex Albon is an incredible line-up for a team at Williams's level right now. Let's not forget it's only scored four points so far this season.
The thing we can't know yet is how much this is a vote of confidence in the Vowles-led revolution at Williams, and how much it is just Sainz deciding Williams is the least-flimsy port in the storm, compared to what Audi needs to do at Sauber, and whatever the hell is going on at Alpine.
And it's really unfortunate that a driver of his level was left with these options.
My expectation is that Sainz probably doesn't see himself racing for Williams five years from now. But from a Williams perspective, even if it turns out Sainz is going there out of hope rather than expectation, the team now has what looks like at least a two-year window to convince him he made the right call.
I don't expect Sauber/Audi to outperform Williams in that time, and while a Mercedes-powered Alpine might be a faster car in the short term, it seems telling that Sainz had enough of a look under the hood of that team and didn't like what he saw.
It's been a tough pill for Sainz to swallow
Edd Straw
Sainz has taken his time in choosing Williams, which is largely down to his desire to ensure he made the best possible choice and picked a project he could fully commit to. But you wouldn't blame him if part of that process was coming to terms with what must seem an unfair situation.
He's won grands prix, stacked up very well compared to Charles Leclerc and is only locked out of the top five teams by a bizarre combination of circumstances. Lewis Hamilton's unexpected move to Ferrari, Mercedes having Kimi Antonelli on its books (not to mention the lingering hope of luring Max Verstappen), being locked out of Red Bull and one Aston Martin seat being devoted to Lance Stroll were all factors that played against him.
Sainz therefore had to take a step from the most famous team in F1 to one that has, by its own admission, underperformed this year. That must be hard to deal with, and it's incredibly fortuitous for Williams that such a driver was available, but Sainz's willingness to make a move that runs counter to the obvious one of going to Audi shows how deeply he must have considered it.
This decision was, indeed, still primarily about the 'least worst' option and Sainz wouldn't have given Williams a second glance not so long ago. But despite that, the team can be confident it has landed not only a seriously good F1 driver but one who truly is ready to devote himself to the Williams cause despite the inevitable disappointment of dropping off grand prix racing's top table.
Sainz solves second driver weakness
Samarth Kanal
Williams hasn’t had the purchasing power nor results attractive enough to afford strong second drivers in recent years.
Since 2017, when Felipe Massa bowed out of F1, Williams has fielded the likes of Nicholas Latifi and Logan Sargeant - neither of whom fared or have fared as well as their respective team-mates.
While rookie Sergey Sirotkin was out-raced by Lance Stroll in 2018, he wasn’t beaten comprehensively and neither were particularly convincing given Stroll himself had been soundly beaten by Massa in 2017.
Even Robert Kubica, who had previously enjoyed a brilliant few years in F1, was well behind George Russell in 2019 on his return from a prolonged and serious injury layoff.
Commercial reasons mean that Williams has had to field drivers who could bring sponsorship to the team - that’s not an unusual scenario in motorsport - and that’s not to imply Sainz and Albon don’t have some sort of commercial backing.
But, next year, the team will buck its trend of significantly weaker second drivers and field a highly capable pairing for the first time in years.
Just how many years it’s been since Williams has fielded such a strong pairing is a different argument. But you have to go back quite far.
Make or break time for Albon
Josh Suttill
The arrival of Sainz is great news for Albon.
Albon's plentiful heroics over his two-and-a-half years with Williams so far have all been achieved with a sub-standard team-mate alongside him.
That lack of a yardstick is somewhat problematic for Albon's hopes of convincing another frontrunning team to give him a shot after his tricky Red Bull tenure.
But given how well Sainz has fared against team-mates like Verstappen, Lando Norris and Leclerc, he will be the perfect yardstick for Albon.
Of course there's the risk Sainz outshines Albon but it's also an opportunity for Albon to show how well he can compare against a multiple grand prix winner and why he deserves another shot at the front of the field - either by leading Williams there or earning another chance elsewhere.
Red Bull/Mercedes have missed an open goal
Jack Benyon
We knew this was coming but the news still makes me think: I cannot believe Mercedes and Red Bull have missed the opportunity to sign Sainz.
Sainz at Red Bull would require it to revisit issues from the past, and Mercedes is desperately trying to make peace with signing a 17-year-old in Antonelli, but either way both teams are in the middle of a dogfight where it’s absolutely clear what an elite second driver can do for you.
Red Bull’s flailing desperately with Sergio Perez underperforming, none of the options to replace him seem convincing enough, and it has a history of having exciting young drivers that come in and struggle.
Mercedes is maximising its results with a car that's not as good as its rivals' in part thanks to having two top drivers. The evidence for how important Sainz could be - with Hamilton of course heading for Sainz's Ferrari seat - is there for both teams to see.
I cannot understand why both Red Bull and Mercedes have let Sainz slip away. He’s too good for Williams.
There was no point waiting any longer
Gary Anderson
It’s all well and good to keep hanging out for a plum drive with either Red Bull or Mercedes but you can also be left without a seat.
What this move does say is that Sainz is less than impressed with Audi or Alpine. The latter we know is continuing its turmoil that started over a year ago with the sacking of two of its top guys and since then there has been an exodus of design talent right through the company.
On top of that I'm pretty sure the recently-arrived Flavio Briatore will be managing a takeover bid that ends up leaving him in charge.
As for Audi, well at the moment you could say it has nothing, and last week's sackings just confirms that it has not invested well over the last season and a half.
At least Williams has something to sell and it seems to have the commitment from its owners to improve, plus Mercedes engines.
I think Albon and Sainz will be a strong team and if Williams can give them a decent car they could very quickly be decent points contenders on a regular basis next season.
