Carlos Sainz put an end to speculation surrounding his future when he announced he would be joining Williams in 2025. The Grove-based team was delighted, but its boss James Vowles couldn’t understand why Red Bull hadn’t signed him before.
Vowles felt that for Red Bull to win the Constructors’ Title, signing Sainz for 2025 could have been vital. He even admitted that signing a driver of Sainz’s caliber for Williams surprised him. During a press conference, he said,
“I rate him as one of the top four if not at times the number two driver on the grid. When you’re in Red Bull’s position, where you’ve got a constructors’ championship at risk…It’s a hard decision but yes, I would have Carlos alongside Max.”
In 2025, Carlos Sainz will become the fourth driver in F1 history to have raced for McLaren, Ferrari & Williams in the series pic.twitter.com/2UO4zKRIO3
— Autosport (@autosport) July 30, 2024
With Sergio Perez, Red Bull struggled comprehensively in the first half of the 2024 season. It put them at risk of losing out on the Constructors’ Title, which also led to rumors of Perez getting sacked.
That is when links between Sainz and Red Bull emerged, but the latter decided to go ahead and hand Perez a two-year contract extension instead.
Sainz is also above Perez in the Drivers’ Championship, despite driving a Ferrari – who have been highly inconsistent so far this year.
In the end, Sainz had to choose between Williams and Audi. And the Madrid-born driver went for the former.
Why did Sainz decide to sign for Williams and not Audi?
According to multiple sources, Sainz believed that Williams had better prospects than Audi. Because the British outfit would be partnered up with Mercedes, who have produced some of F1’s most powerful engines.
Audi meanwhile, would be fielding a works team from 2025 onwards. A new entry in F1, Sainz was unsure of what to expect, also because they take over Sauber, a team that has been a perennial backmarker.
Williams, on the other hand, was once a Championship-winning team. And Vowles wants to take them back to the top. Sainz too, admits to being excited about the chance to be a part of Williams’ resurgence.
