As Formula One moves into its official 2-week Summer shutdown, the big news comes from the Carlos Sainz Jr. camp, where the Spaniard has signed a multi-year deal with Williams Racing.
It has been a long 6 months since the announcement of Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari in 2025, forcing Sainz to look employment in the New Year. Speculation ran rampant about which team Carlos would sign with, but, by the start of Summer, choices were down to Alpine, Kick Sauber (renamed Audi F1 as of 2026) and Williams.
So why Williams?
The answer comes from the leadership of James Vowles, Williams Team Principal, who was able to convince Sainz of future plans which will move the Team up the grid. Dorilton Capital, a private investment firm, has provided Williams with the ability to appoint new key personnel and to increase headcount in general (to just over 1,000) – strong indicators of Williams’ ability to push its way forward. For Vowles, the Summer break was also the commitment point and may have forced Sainz’s hand in making a decision.
How did Alpine and Kick Sauber miss out on signing the Spaniard? In both cases uncertainty within the Team structure was a key factor.
The Swiss-based Kick Sauber Team’s performances have been extremely poor this season and any in-season upgrades have not produced desired results. For a Team that’s looking to make a splash in 2026 as “Audi F1”, the Factory is still understaffed with key engineering appointments yet to be filled. In a major management shake-up, it was announced that both Kick Sauber/Audi F1 bosses Oliver Hoffmann and Andreas Seidl had been sacked and replaced by ex-Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto.
Would Alpine have been the better choice? Like the aforementioned Kick Sauber/Audi F1 Team, Alpine has had its share of management reshuffles this season, with the latest being Team Principal Bruno Famin being replaced at the start of the Summer break. The French Team has seen countless key staff fired or tender their resignations over the past 12 months, creating a weak climate to attract Sainz. The one shining light has been the recent appointment of ex-Benetton/Renault Team Principal, Flavio Briatore, to help restructure the Team, and the consideration of potentially switching to customer (Mercedes) power units for 2026.
Other teams linked to a Sainz 2025 move were Mercedes, Red Bull and Aston Martin. For Mercedes, the Hamilton vacancy could have been a dream fit for Sainz, but for a young Andrea Kimi Antonelli on the scene. Although not signed at the time of writing, Antonelli looks to be the favorite unless Toto Wolff can snatch Max Verstappen away from Red Bull and put him in the open Mercedes seat. For Red Bull, Sainz would be a strong successor if the Verstappen Mercedes move happens. Despite all the infighting at Red Bull between Jos Verstappen, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, it seems that Max is staying put for the moment. As for Aston Martin, Lance is not leaving any time soon for reasons we all know.
What about the man who took Sainz’s Ferrari seat: Lewis Hamilton? How will 2025 go for him? Recent performances on track suggest he is still at the top of his game; however, off track Hamilton has been critical of the Mercedes Team with whispers of “sabotage” and complaints about strategic calls. For a Team that has stood behind and delivered 6 of Hamilton’s 7 World Championship titles, this open criticism is somewhat disrespectful, and something Ferrari will not tolerate under any circumstances.
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