Carlos Sainz has just six months left on his Ferrari contract, and recent reports have pointed him toward a Williams seat for 2025. Team Principal James Vowles, however, refuses to confirm the same and insists that the Grove-based outfit is a long way away from deciding on their line-up for the upcoming season.
In the Team Principals’ press conference ahead of the Canadian GP, Vowles addressed the Sainz to Williams rumors. And his answer was simple. “There’s nothing to say at the moment.”
Vowles does admit that Sainz is an “exceptional” driver, and feels he would be sought after by the entire grid. Still, there is no haste in agreeing to a deal with the Spaniard, and certainly no hurry in revealing the same. When the interviewer asked Vowles for a possible date by which Sainz’s potential move could be made official, the Briton replied, “Definitely 100% by December.”
James Vowles on Carlos Sainz during the TP Conference: “By December I’ll be able to tell you.”
byu/PradaAndPunishment informula1
Sainz too, denied signing any contract with Williams in Montreal this weekend. He has remained adamant that he will speak about his future himself when things are certain.
However, the 29-year-old continues to run out of options, considering the teams who were previously linked to him, have started locking in their lineups for the 2025 campaign.
Carlos Sainz doesn’t have a huge pool to choose from
When Sainz’s Ferrari exit first became official, almost half the grid was linked to him. Red Bull, for starters, were believed to be unhappy with Perez. However, that has changed now, and the Mexican recently signed a two-year contract extension with the Milton-Keynes-based outfit.
Aston Martin too, has its lineup secured with Fernando Alonso signing a new two-year deal. This leaves a handful of options open for Sainz.
Not easy to extract many conclusions today, with the weather changing a lot between dry and wet conditions. Still, we put in some decent runs with slicks and intermediates and ran as much as possible. Now let’s focus on tomorrow.
–#CarlosSainz pic.twitter.com/yEsUVrHUMb
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) June 8, 2024
Mercedes is the only top team Sainz can potentially land a seat in. However, the Silver Arrows’ long-term ambitions involve Kimi Antonelli, not him. As a result, the Brackley-based team will be hesitant about offering the Spaniard a contract length longer than one year.
Audi is a viable option, as the Germans who enter the grid in 2026 (through Sauber) are reported to have offered Sainz a three-year deal with a big salary. Alpine is another team that will have a vacant seat, owing to Esteban Ocon’s departure in 2025.
Williams, too are in the hunt. But whether or not Sainz joins them, will be official only ‘before December’, per Vowles.
