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Carlos Sainz will join the Williams Formula 1 team in 2025, having spurned rival interest from the likes of Alpine and the soon-to-be-Audi Sauber team.
The 29-year-old has been deliberating his options ever since Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari i February closed off his options to stay at the team.
Long-shot opportunities to join either Red Bull or Mercedes didn't pan out, and Sainz was left facing a choice between Williams and Audi - before Alpine entered into the picture and, armed with the prospect of a switch to customer Mercedes engines in 2026, briefly looked like the favourite to lure him away.
But Williams F1 boss James Vowles said at Spa that he was "more than 50%" confident of Williams signing Sainz, and this has now come off with an announcement on Monday after the Belgian Grand Prix.
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
The team has announced Sainz's arrival as being on "a two-year agreement with options to extend", thus covering the final year of the current regulations cycle in 2025 and the start of the next regulations cycle in 2026.
"It is no secret that this year’s driver market has been exceptionally complex for various reasons and that it has taken me some time to announce my decision," said Sainz, a three-time F1 grand prix winner.
"However, I am fully confident that Williams is the right place for me to continue my F1 journey and I am extremely proud of joining such a historic and successful team, where many of my childhood heroes drove in the past and made their mark on our sport.
"I am convinced that this team has all the right ingredients to make history again."
Sainz, it is believed, only made up his mind in the hours before the signing and announcement, having still been deliberating at Spa.
His arrival at Williams makes formal the exit of Logan Sargeant, whose non-renewal has in any case been long treated as a formality.
Sargeant has been tipped for a future in IndyCar instead.
"Carlos joining Williams is a strong statement of intent from both parties," said Vowles, who added that in Sainz and Alex Albon Williams will have "one of the most formidable driver line-ups on the grid".
"I also want to thank Logan for everything he has done for the team and know he will continue to fight hard for us in the races ahead.”
Sainz committing to Williams suggests he believes that a last-gasp change of mind at either Red Bull or Mercedes for 2025 has proven a non-starter.
Red Bull's line-up remains in a state of flux with uncertainty over Sergio Perez's future, but any resolution there is expected to come from within its existing pool of drivers. Mercedes, meanwhile, again looks increasingly likely to bet on its rookie protege Kimi Antonelli.
In the meantime, Sainz's commitment to Williams should unlock F1's midfield silly season.
Valtteri Bottas was thought to be Williams's fall-back option in case the Sainz move didn't come off, but is now logically favourite to stay on at Sauber, where a recent leadership change will have increased the likelihood of a continuation of a partnership that had seemed on the ropes earlier this season.
Alpine, meanwhile, having struck out on Sainz, may be tempted to proceed with one of its F1 juniors, most likely reserve driver Jack Doohan.
Experienced options like Kevin Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu also remain on the market for those two teams.
