Carlos Sainz finds himself at a crossroads regarding his F1 future beyond 2024. With Ferrari not renewing his contract, two teams are most heavily linked to Sainz currently – Audi and Sauber. While Audi has shown interest in the Spaniard for several months, it is Williams who makes a better case.
On his blog, Joe Saward makes a compelling argument against Sainz’s potential Audi move. The Germans, who will manufacture their own engines, cannot guarantee Sainz any form of success in the immediate years. Saward takes Mercedes-Benz’s entry into F1 in 1993 as an example.
They partnered up with Sauber first, a move that didn’t work out for either party before joining hands with McLaren in 1994. To win their first race, however, Mercedes had to wait until 1997 and their first World Championship came in 1998 (with McLaren).
Sainz, 29, would not be willing to make a similarly long commitment. Both Audi and Williams will take some time to get towards the front of the grid, but Saward feels that the latter will take less time. “OK, Williams has not achieved much in the last 10 years,” he writes. “But if one watches the sport closely, one can see the signs that this is going to end.”
According to Saward, the fact that Williams uses Mercedes’ engines will play to its advantage. Mercedes is an established force in F1 now, and taking McLaren’s rise and the 2026 regulations into account, Williams will not be too far away from the top in the coming years.
Why Williams is the perfect fit for Carlos Sainz
Sainz’s aim is the continue fighting towards the front of the grid with his new team, as he has been doing with Ferrari since 2021. With Williams, that won’t be the case from the get-go, but the Spaniard has better chances of getting there than he has with Audi.
Saward talks about Williams’ upward trajectory. “The team was in a dreadful mess when it was acquired by Dorilton. And fixing it up is taking time. But if one looks at what McLaren is now doing, a Mercedes customer team is as good as Mercedes and Ferrari. And that HAS to be a better bet than Audi.”
Finally, Saward goes on to reveal that Williams is offering a ‘2+2’ deal to the Madrid-born driver. This means, if Sainz isn’t happy with how Williams deal with the 2026 regulations, he can choose to leave for a better offer.
