Spanish Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz, now with Ferrari, will start racing for Williams Racing from 2025, a British team with which he has signed a new contract for the next two years, with the option to extend it. The Madrid native thus puts an end to the rumours of recent weeks about his immediate future.
The British team announced the signing in a statement published on its website. The 29-year-old Spaniard has signed a new two-year contract with Williams, from Ferrari, with the option to extend his ties with the British team.
After the Italian team announced seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton as Charles Leclerc’s teammate from 2025, Sainz was forced to look for a new ‘home’ on the grid. And after being linked with Mercedes or Red Bull, the Spaniard chooses the Williams project to continue his career in the ‘Big Circus’, after 23 podiums and more than 1,100 points. In addition, in 2023 he was the only driver to break Red Bull’s hegemony, and he also won in Australia this year, just ten days after undergoing appendicitis surgery.
Sainz will race alongside Thailand’s Alex Albon in 2025 and 2026, when Formula 1 regulations change. “I am very happy to announce that I will be joining Williams Racing from 2025. It is no secret that this year’s driver market has been exceptionally complex for a number of reasons and it has taken me some time to announce my decision,” said the Spaniard. “However, I am fully confident that Williams is the right place for me to continue my journey in F1 and I am extremely proud to join such a historic and successful team, where many of my childhood heroes drove in the past and left their mark on our sport,” he explained, before defending that the ultimate goal is to “return Williams to its rightful place, at the front of the grid”, a challenge that he accepts “with enthusiasm and positivity”.
Sainz also thanked James Vowles and the entire Williams Board for “their trust and determination.” “Their solid leadership and convictions have also played an important role in my decision-making,” he said. He continued: “I truly believe that the core of every successful team lies in its people and its culture. Williams is synonymous with heritage and pure racing, the foundations of the project we have ahead of us are very solid and I am looking forward to being part of it starting next year.”
The signing leaves no room for American Logan Sargeant, whom Williams wanted to thank for his “hard work and dedication over the past two years”. He became the first American driver to score 30 points. For Williams, the addition of Sainz is “a strong statement of intent by both parties”, signing “one of the most talented drivers on the grid, with a race-winning pedigree. Carlos not only brings experience and performance, but also a fierce motivation to extract every thousandth of a second from the team and the car”, concludes the statement.
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