After spending four years with Ferrari, a team consistently fighting for wins, the last thing Carlos Sainz would have wanted was to sign with a backmarker, where podiums would be a rarity. Unfortunately, with limited options, he had to settle for a move to one.
Ferrari had announced that Lewis Hamilton would replace Sainz in 2025, forcing the Spaniard to look for a new team. He took his time, considering offers from several outfits, but the only serious contenders were Sauber and Williams — both backmarkers.
After much consideration, Sainz decided to sign for Williams.
The Madrid-born driver always knew that joining the Grove-based outfit wouldn’t yield short-term benefits. They were struggling to score points, let alone compete for trophies. However, two key reasons influenced his decision.
For Sainz, it was “the project” and the “people” that drew him to Williams. “When I started discussing more in detail with James (Vowles), I realized that he had put together a very strong project here at Williams,” he said in a YouTube video posted by the team.
“He was forming a team, with a vision, with a project together with Dorilton (a US-based private investment firm that acquired Williams in 2020) that I think is going to bring this team back to the front“.
“How many times do you shampoo per day?”
Inside Carlos’ first day at Grove as he meets the team for the first time
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) February 4, 2025
Sainz and Williams’ best chances to achieve success will come in 2026 when the new regulations kick in. To achieve success then, Team Principal James Vowles said last year that he is ready to sacrifice the 2025 campaign to have a chance of achieving success the following year.
Vowles is “okay” with struggling in 2025 if it helps Williams in 2026
In an interview last year, Vowles stated, “We’re going to move back a little bit. And if we are, I’m okay with that, because it simply says that I’m investing at the right rate for ‘26 compared to those around me. That’s what we should be expecting from it: we are going to compromise ’25.”
Williams appears to have the resources needed to achieve success. With Dorilton Capital backing the team, they now have the financial support to upgrade their infrastructure and bring in the right personnel to position themselves competitively for 2026.
Furthermore, with Sainz and Alex Albon, Williams has two top drivers who can help extract the most from their package. Their continued partnership with Mercedes ensures they have an experienced power unit supplier—one with a proven track record of delivering dominant engines during regulation changes, as seen in 2014.
2025 could be the year Sainz finds his footing at the British outfit, setting the stage for significant progress when the regulation changes take effect.
