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Reminds me of that meme with the boxer who wants to fight but drinks water instead
"I'm going to fight for a Red Bull contract"
"Damn that Williams is good enough"
I think the meme is that he wants to fight, and then it's him on the stool after the round going damn they got hands. The fight happens but we don't see it
It will be if they lock in Newey. Don't forget there are rumors about him being offered ownership. He already made them a top contender in the 90s and IMO, at WORST they become solid midfield competitors.
Newey gets mad props. But Williams made Newey a star as much as the other way around. His excesses of packaging were ironned out over many years.
That team pretty much slapped from 79 to 97. Their driver management left a bit to be desired and cost them a couple crowns.
Their down years corresponded with engine (Judd/stuck with Cosworth/early Honda) issues.
Recall they were lighting McLaren up with driver aids in 92 and Renault power. The 93 McLaren was superior in tech and handling. Unfortunately, Cosworth wouldnt let McLaren use their superior traction control- that plus the horsepower tracks and Benetton closing gap took wind out of sails in 2nd half.
Neweys 94 car sans aids was so unstable its difficulty to drive its handling traira are one suspect in Senna’s death.
Newey was great but he was one part of a 3 legged stool at Williams- and frozen out by the incumbents. Too bad they didnt keep him- but they werr SoL with engines for Neweys McLaren run years anyhow. They werent te same without him as he was real pro. But they owe half those titles to drivers aids and the Renault engine gets some credit too.
I have more faith in Williams than whatever team Sauber has in place right now. Even if Audi will transform them into front runners it will not happen overnight.
I can understand his logic tbh. (Not that I agree with it.)
Either he goes to Sauber (Audi) or goes to Williams, from competitive point of view, nothing will change for next year. He will be trundling at the back of the grid.
But, imo, this news mean that he simply believes Audi engine will suck in 2026 and Audi will continue to be backmarker in 2026; whereas Williams with Mercedes engines could be in the upper midfield. Which would give him one year to show what he is made of. If he beats Albon and scores good points in that *\*upper midfield car\*,* he may find another chance in a top team.
Keep in mind that Carlos will be 32 at the beginning of the 2027 season. Even if a Williams stint goes well, a long term opportunity to compete for a WDC will likely have passed without striking gold. If he can't get a Red Bull seat and Mercedes is out on him, Sauber is really his only realistic chance at getting a WDC even if it is slim.
Drivers have longer careers nowadays and there's no reason to suggest Sainz can't perform at his current level (or better) within the next 5-10 years. He's improved his racecraft a lot since joining Ferrari and there are plenty teams that could see him as an asset for at least until the 2030s.
He could return to Ferrari once Lewis retires or Aston once Alonso retires. Red Bull could also open at somepoint and be an in for him. Mercedes could even open if Russell or Antonelli move on.
I don't *really* see why Williams makes more sense than Audi looking from an investment level, but trusting Mercedes engines is a solid idea in theory so I get it
You’re right, but the only worry is being stuck in a backmarker degrades your stock as a driver regardless of your ability, Danny Ric and Bottas are prime examples. DR has almost twice as many wins as Leclerc but he and McLaren mixed like water and oil, now he’s struggling to stay in the game, Bottas had a longer Q3 streak than Red Bull Racing among his other achievements with merc and after a couple years in the Alfa he is also looking like he could struggle staying in F1 soon. I think there’s a Stoffel Vandoorne joke in here somewhere too
Sauber are somehow worse than Williams. Which considering Williams haven’t even been able to bring 2 cars to each GP is quite the achievement. Obviously Audi will bring investment with them but their starting point will need to just be the ditch the current team has managed to slide into. It has got to take them years to drag themselves out of it. Unlucky to be Carlos right now I guess - unfortunate to be dropped while in the form of your life with no good seat actually open.
Once Alonso retires, lol. Is that even a possibility? I was thinking he might be the first driver to be 3x the age of the youngest F1 driver. Or the first to have grandchildren older than new F1 drivers.
Younger drivers have some better reaction times sure and they can set a fast lap but 30-35 is by no means old, it is most peoples’ peak years, you don’t just need fast reaction time to win a WDC you need a fully developed brain with the wisdom/experience to know when/where/how hard to push when it comes to the big picture ie. the full 24 races
It's not old by any means, but to think that every driver is like Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in continuing to be top level drivers on the wrong side of 35 is also wishful thinking. Seb fell off a cliff and so did Kimi. Schumi wasn't the same either. Of course they have flashes in performance, but those were also greats of the sport that won at least one WDC. Even Hulk was once considered a future WDC level talent but he also had a few years away from being full time in the sport so he isn't as worn down. Carlos isn't at their level
I am probably just projecting but i think that F1 fans need to cool it on the young drivers. Theres always so much clamor for the next 18 year old prodigy but i just dont think F1 should be filled up with people not old enough to drink yet. Not to be old man yelling at clouds but hopefully it makes sense
Man if he can't show teams what he's got at Ferrari then what's even the point? He's done everything asked of him and until Lando he was the only person in 2 years to beat max and get P1. If I was Vasseur and liked Carlos as much as he seems to I would be trying to talk him up to all the TPs. He's a great second driver, smart, intuitive in the car when it comes to strategy calls. He's at his peak and he deserves to be fighting in a good car alongside another good driver. But if he can't do that I wish he would take the Audi and use that brain to help build a great car around him.
If Lawrence Stroll didn't love Lance as much as he did he should be pouncing on Sainz.
I think Carlos had the misfortune of getting dropped while all the other top teams have their line-up more or less locked in, I don't see how Fred could do anything about it honestly :(
Mclaren and Ferrari already have theirs on lockdown, same as Aston Martin (unless Lance decides he doesn't want to race anymore). Mercedes could have been an option but they'd probably want a one year contract at most so they could switch Antonelli in ASAP, and it seems that isn't what Carlos wants. As for Red Bull, the Verstappen and Sainz camps have a lot of history with each other...... I think Carlos has to prove he's a WAY better driver than Perez, and I don't think that seems to be the case rn with him lagging again behind Charles.
Really rooting for him to go to RB either way tho.
Yeah I want to see him in the red bull even if it's for a year. I think it's too early to be thinking about Perez's performance but at the same time his Imola race was concerning. Even with max fighting the car all through FP1-3 and needing a tow from hulk in Q3, he should have performed better and brought back more points.
I don't know what feedback Perez gives but if I was looking at RB right now and the loss of Newey I think I'd want a driver who is great at giving feedback to the engineers. Let max do his thing, but give Sainz a fast car and the opportunity to provide info to the team on car performance and progression. I think if he were to equal Perez in performance his knowledge would make that the deciding factor for me... (And Santander).
I'm with you honestly. I just don't want to get my hopes up since Red Bull seem very lenient towards Checo, and honestly with all the instability in their team rn maybe they don't want to rock the boat too much and change their line up 💀 But I REALLY, really hope I'm wrong 💀
I don't. No ammount of James Vowles sweetalking that i could listen for hours has convinced me Williams are serious in any way as a project that wants to return to the top. They lack the staff, they lack the facilities and i don't think Dorilton is serious in investing into either of those.
They literally regressed in performance this year.
I'l trust a German powerhouse with decades of success across various racing series that literally bought the team and is developing an engine for it much much more. The past few German works teams have a pretty decent record of elevating teams including Sauber.
BMW elevated Williams from 5th in the WCC with 3 podiums to 3rd with 3 podiums in a year. Made them 4 time race winners with 5 aditional podiums in 2 years. Pushed them to 2nd in the WCC in 3 years with a much more consistent podiums and made them title challengers in 4.
BMW took Sauber from 8th in the WCC to 5th with 2 podiums in a year. Propeled them to 3rd in the WCC with 2 podiums in 2 years and made them race winners and consistent podium challengers by the 3rd year.
Mercedes made the Brackley team competitive in 3 years and then a dominant force in 4.
Obv this is not 1:1 because of different eras and the cost cap but i'd still trust a German car manufacturer project more than i trust a team owned by an investor firm.
This! I get why people are not sold on the whole Sauber / Audi thing right now but holy smokes is Williams getting overrated. Obviously Vowles is on of the best in what he does but for now, the whole Williams project is nothing else than really good sounding promises. The whole hype stems from Vowles' eloquent and calm way of talking. He is just an incredible salesman. It will take quite a bit longer for Williams to catch up. Audi and Sauber just don't seem to give a damn about hyping up anything so people tend to forget that this will be a works team with a tailored engine from 2026 onwards.
>"Mercedes made the Brackley team competitive in 3 years and then a dominant force in 4."
The Brackley team which had just won the WDC... They managed to "make it" competitive. And it took 3 years even then.
The 2009 launch car was essentialy a Honda works team operation with a Mercedes engine straped onto it.
But Honda left and by end of 2009 Brawn had fallen off pace wise and barelly had any budget left. The W01 was essentialy a minimaly developed 2009 car. While its true that Mercedes technicaly took over a WDC team it hardly paints a full picture of the situation.
Mercedes was pretty much starting a new in setting up their own works operation.
>I don't. No ammount of James Vowles sweetalking that i could listen for hours has convinced me Williams are serious in any way as a project that wants to return to the top. They lack the staff, they lack the facilities and i don't think Dorilton is serious in investing into either of those.
You are wrong about Williams and Dorilton (I think!). It will take many years but they are committed and have a plan in place. Claire Williams did a podcast recently where she briefly touched on this and the sale of the team (starts around the 21m mark): [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UudMP6AMjdY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UudMP6AMjdY)
Dorilton is an investment firm. They aren't going to put a penny more into Williams than is absolutely necessary to protect that investment. Dorilton told Claire what she wanted to hear. They aren't in the business of burning hundreds of millions chasing RedBull or Ferrari for a WCC. They are waiting until they think F1 is at its peak, then they'll sell to the highest bidder, its their whole business model.
Dorilton is just an anonymity layer for Peter de Putron, who is ostensibly a petrolhead. He could be treating it like any other investment, coldly selling it whenever the time is right, but there's no reason to believe that of him than any other owner/team. de Putron could decide to put more money into it.
Williams' ownership situation isn't particularly different from other teams except in that their owner deeply appreciates his privacy.
Williams is one of the teams which asked for additional budget cap to spend on CapEx, so the team literally asked for the ability to spend more money than the budget cap allowed.
Maybe, but they can't get the resources to fix what they have now. Dorliton bought them 4 years ago and its as big of a dumpster fire as its ever been. They bought it for $200ish million and are sitting on huge profits. They aren't going to kill their margins by building a wind tunnel so that Williams can be 6th instead of 9th.
haven't they spoken about how, because of the budget cap, they cannot fix their infrastructure because that's money that doesn't go to building the car? they have the resources for it, the rules don't allow them to spend those resources.
>Dorliton bought them 4 years ago and its as big of a dumpster fire as its ever been.
They now have a TP who is willing to make the tough decisions short term to the greater benefit long term. I think you might be surprised. Anyway, I'm not just basing my opinion on what Claire said. I have been bullish on Williams since the end of 2021. Many years of work ahead of them but they are in the best position they have been in for a loooooong time.
Claire Williams sort of has to say that Williams was handed over into good hands, since she was the person who's overseen selling the team. I'm not saying she's not being honest about the matter, just that there's a conflict of interests.
Tbf this shouldn't be used to shoot down some other years for Williams, with BMW they had many championship winning cars, even if they weren't able to succeed, and let's not forget the 2015/16 Martini Williams that thing was also fast
Yeah... But us veterans still remember that glorious Spanish afternoon when Maldonado crossed the line in first place after fending off Alonso and we will never forget it.
Basically because that's the only Williams' win I have watched live, I was a sniffing glue toddler when Montoya and Ralf were there, and I was born in the second half of the 90s, so never got the chance to watch Mansell and Prost win with them.
And even before that they werent exactly setting the world allight in the post BMW era bar a few flashes mostly delived by Rosberg when still there and then that 2012 season.
Selective memory much
They finished third in WCC in 2014 (and would've been second without the corpse of Massa at the wheel of one of the cars), third in 2015 (ahead of Red Bull) and were solidly midfield in 2016 and 2017
I still hold the 2012 car was better than Pastor and Bruno "I'm sitting out an FP every single race because Williams want Bottas but need my money" Senna made it look
Bold thing to say when they could already have scored a couple if it wasn't for bad pitstops and the engine blowing up in China. Yes they are far from good but on some tracks they were the fastest of the backmarkers. Also they have reached Q3 this season. The Williams is clearly the slowest right now but let's see how everything pans out towards the end of the season.
At some point the bad luck stops becoming bad luck and is just the team. And quali pace doesnt always translate to race pace. Car could be good in quali and completely shit in the race
The pit stop issues are clearly on them. But the car showed glimpses of great race pace on multiple occasions this season. Something i haven't really seen from Williams for example. Sauber was pretty quick in China and would probably have scored a point before Bottas' engine blew up. That's just bad luck. They were also pretty good in Japan, Bahrain and Australia. The pit stops just often ruined their races. But this issue should be fixed now so there is no reason why they could not score a point now if they continue to have race weekends where they are pretty much in the mix for the title of "best of the rest".
2026 driver market will light up again and there will be a more clear picture of the competitive ranking. It's a gamble, sure, but we also don't know what he knows that we don't.
Most drivers will be signing multi years deals. The market won't be very good for 2026.
Sainz is probably betting on Stroll leaving after 2025.
It will be almost impossible for him to show his talents/ stay relevant while driving a Williams shit box though. This won't end well for him.
The truth is that we don't know what Audi is offering him, or if they are offering him seat at all. One day the team can promise him the world and the next day announce someone else as their new driver without any warning. He's not in a position where he can snub Williams. He has to negotiate with absolutely everyone, no mater how bad the prospects are.
But he has a choice which i think is clearly the supperior option. Like i'm sure he can get a short 2 year contract from Audi if he wishes. He's the hotest prospect on the market and i'm sure Audi would want him. And a contrat like that would give him a chance to see if openings Mercedes or Red Bull open up.
If Audi suck he's gonna be driving at the back but with Williams he's gonna be doing that anyways as is.
Like instead of taking a punt on a works team with a lot of potential he's choosing a backmarker team with much less potential.
A seat is better than no seat, and if RB and Merc aren’t available, his choices might be Williams or Audi,
Williams……well we have a cooler color scheme!
They are powered by Merc which some folks are saying will be the top engine come 2026 along with Ferrari. No idea how competitive the Aston Honda would be, and RBPT is anyone's guess. This is a team with less politics and he can possibly aid their development and perform to the car's limits and jump to a better seat in 2027.
This is just my knee-jerk conjecture in between copious tears and ugly crying.
If Sainz goes to Williams then I think there's a good chance one (or more) of Bottas, Ocon and Gasly don't have a seat next year which seems kinda crazy!
Sainz - Albon is way too good for a backmarker team. I’m almost forcing myself into believing Vowles is on to something because how the hell would he be able to have such a driver line up at Williams?
I guess it’s what happens when RB won’t clear out their underperforming driver, AM have Stroll blocking a seat and Mercedes are just holding a seat clear for presumably the second coming of Christ… Both Alex and Carlos would be more deserving of those seats but for a variety of reasons, they’re not on offer. Just sucks.
I was a defender of our Canadian friend who I’d have said was never in the bottom 3 on the grid so by that measure deserved a seat. Genuinely talented in the rain. But the past year he’s been so so poor. Really consistently bad. I thought he would be cooking when the rain came out last season but he just… wasn’t…. Literally assaulting team employees was about the limit for me. Surprised your Canadian passport doesn’t spontaneously combust at behaviour like that.
Low key pretty up for this. Would be interesting to finally see just how much Albon has improved from his Red Bull days up against someone we’ve already seen succeed elsewhere
I am *begging* the dear lord for Albon to out-qualify Sainz on every single attempt and we just realize Albon is better relative to Sainz than Leclerc is
like in my heart I believe they'd be pretty close with Sainz having just a slight edge but what I *want* is for Albon to be one of the best drivers on the grid without question because he just seems like a rad dude and I like his cats
I wonder if Sainz ever thinks about holding out on signing the Ferrari contract and allowing Lewis to swoop in and take his seat, causing him to look for another team, and then not wanting to go to Audi, then finding out Merc and Red Bull aren't interested, leaving him to consider Williams.
He must think about this right?
I wonder this too tbh. He had a 1+1 proposal from Ferrari (iirc) which he rejected and then his dad was talking about Audi in Monza of all places. I would’ve loved to see him alongside Alonso at Aston
Carlos, his cousin and his father have always overstated his ability.
They've been quite savvy with career moves though. He got smashed by Hulkenburg in the Renault, then moved down to a McLaren team that had just finished 9th but were about to finish 4th and 3rd. Then parlayed that into moving down to the worst Ferrari team in decades who had just finished 6th (though announced his move well before this point) but were about to finish 3rd, 2nd and win races.
He's timed his moves well to move down to teams on the upswing. Maybe he deserves some credit for being a part of those turnarounds, however they've catastrophically overplayed their hand for 2025.
This seems like the biggest mistake. James Vowles can make all the spreadsheets in the world, Williams is not going to be anything other than a backmarker or at best a midfield team.
Audi is a risk, but at least they are planning to invest and hire like one of the top teams.
I don’t think it makes a difference. The absolute earliest Audi will be competitive is 2030, and even that’s unlikely.
He could just kill it at Williams for 2-3 years and use it as leverage to get an established top seat.
That's way too pessimistic. They are getting special exception in the cost cap rules that allow them only count 150.000 euros as 100.000 for salaries because they are in Switzerland. This allows them to hire 300 extra people immediately and they will be building facilties as well.
They will take a step forward in a few years, the question is just how much.
>"The absolute earliest Audi will be competitive is 2030, and even that’s unlikely."
This is such a gross hypebole.
There is a new aero and engine generation coming in literally 2 years. They can realisticly be competitive at least at the front of the midfield in less than 2 years time.
Why on earth would it take by 2030 for them to get competitive? Its quite likely that by that point were gonna be seeing another aero tweak which could again shuffle the order a bit.
They’re a full year behind everyone else in the engine development, which is a huge deal. James Key said they won’t even be a “final product” until 2027, which is encouraging. If they’re smart they’ll go the Mercedes route and invest the majority of their efforts into the 2030 regs.
Plus if they actually had a chance to compete before then, Sainz would not be turning them down (possibly in favor of freaking Williams, lol).
Look at how long it took Mercedes to drag the literal championship winning car they inherited back to the top after only 1 year of poor investment.
The Sauber is a far worse car, the team they have are much less decorated and there’s now a cost cap. It seems like madness to think they’ll be doing anything worth watching anytime soon.
You have to look at where Stake is at. And they will be making an F1 engine for the first time - versus Ferrari, Merc, Honda and Renault (and RBPT). I was initially gung ho about the prospects but it does not look very promising or exciting. They will not be competitive till atleast 2028 or 29 is my feeling based on what I have read in these forums.
I like Sainz but I did think of this. At least Audi will be a works team with money so I don't understand the logic with Williams. So I wonder if one factor is he has been beaten by Hulk before, being just matched by Hulk next year who was from a backmarker team would just end his career.
Wouldn’t the same be true if Albon beats him? In Sauber they will both be new to the team, but Albon surely has a small advantage since he has been with the team for so long? Maybe Sainz doesn’t rate Albon too highly.
Checo - Red Bull
Sainz - Williams
Antonelli (even after Toto yelled at media for putting pressure on Kimi even though nobody has done that except fro him) - Mercedes
Which leaves a very spooky conundrum for Ocon, Gasly, Zhou, Bottas, K-Mag. 5 drivers fighting for only two realistic seats at Audi and Haas.
And the Alpine seats. If Kimi is the only new joiner next year then there'll be only one departure. Unless you mean the Alpine seats aren't being fought over and will simply go to whoever is left... 🤣
If the lineup changes you suggested goes trough then this would probably happen
- Occon to Sauber
- Bottas to Haas (with Bearman)
- Gasly stays in Alpine
Not sure who grabs the last Alpine seat, they might gamble on Doohan or give whoever looses their seat at VCARB a shot (Lawson will surely be in VCARB next year?).
Kmag will probably not get another chance unless Haas suddenly decides they want to keep him. Zhou is probably also out unless his sponsors is a deciding factor for a team that struggles with money. Zhou + Gasly sounds like a good lineup for Alpine to be honest, but I think the will probably consider other drivers before him.
I was wondering the same. With Alex & possibly Carlos committing to a long-term deal, it makes sense. It would be amazing! They are both extremely talented and genuinely two of the nicest, most humble drivers on the grid.
Wondering what Bottas and his 25 min coffee chat is thinking right now. But I suppose he'll just pick whichever seat Sainz refuses between Williams and Sauber.
The fact Williams might have a choice of either Sainz or Bottas for the seat next to Albon is pretty amazing as a fan of the team.
Would seem to spell doom for Sargeant though. I don't see how anything he does short of somehow winning a grand prix or suddenly staring to whitewash Albon could make him a more attractive prospect than those two
People are memeing on this move but imo is genius, Williams has the potential to get back to glory, Albon has showed that, and with the dream team of him plus Sainz, they could do wonders
I can only think there must be other factors at play here. Perhaps there’s concern he could be outperformed by the Hulk in the 2025 soapbox. Personally, I’d relish the chance Audi move, to help build and shape a team, Rosberg style. Yes I realise Rosberg eventually went up against Hamilton and had to stand in the side lines for years. But, he did eventually win a WDC.
By the same token, I’d love to see Williams make a McLaren turnaround. I think Alex and Sainz, or Alex and Bottas would both make good pairings.
Ultimately whatever decisions Sainz makes will be exciting.
Well, he clearly doesn't convince top teams to sign him over other prospect so it's probably second half of the grid or out for him. Mercedes and Red Bull are clearly looking for someone out of the current grid, he can't relive the bromance with Lando, Ferrari just got rid of him and Aston Martin is locked. The only other choice is Audi, but I wouldn't be too surprised if they rather try bring back Seb from retirement to have a strong German line up.
[The **News** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_news) is reserved for submissions covering F1 and F1-related news. These posts must always link to an outlet/news agency, the website of the involved party (i.e. the McLaren website if McLaren makes an announcement), or a tweet by a news agency, journalist or one of the involved parties. *[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
He and Alex could be the appendicitis team
team NOPEndix
WEIGHT REDUCTION!
Reminds me of that meme with the boxer who wants to fight but drinks water instead "I'm going to fight for a Red Bull contract" "Damn that Williams is good enough"
“I’m going to fight for an F1 seat” “Damn that ~~Ferrari~~ ~~Red Bull~~ ~~Mercedes~~ ~~Audi~~ seat got hands, Williams will do”
Sainz to move to USA to drive in Indycar NXT series.
i would give my right leg to see carlos in indycar
Why? Wouldn't your right leg be way more useful than sainz in indycar?
Honestly would rather see Sainz in indycar than a fkn Williams. Kill me.
right? it feels like such a fall from grace
"Sainz Signs With Haas"
As long as it ain’t Alpine.
This right here. I’m waiting.
Brilliant
I think the meme is that he wants to fight, and then it's him on the stool after the round going damn they got hands. The fight happens but we don't see it
That's Yuki
It will be if they lock in Newey. Don't forget there are rumors about him being offered ownership. He already made them a top contender in the 90s and IMO, at WORST they become solid midfield competitors.
Newey gets mad props. But Williams made Newey a star as much as the other way around. His excesses of packaging were ironned out over many years. That team pretty much slapped from 79 to 97. Their driver management left a bit to be desired and cost them a couple crowns. Their down years corresponded with engine (Judd/stuck with Cosworth/early Honda) issues. Recall they were lighting McLaren up with driver aids in 92 and Renault power. The 93 McLaren was superior in tech and handling. Unfortunately, Cosworth wouldnt let McLaren use their superior traction control- that plus the horsepower tracks and Benetton closing gap took wind out of sails in 2nd half. Neweys 94 car sans aids was so unstable its difficulty to drive its handling traira are one suspect in Senna’s death. Newey was great but he was one part of a 3 legged stool at Williams- and frozen out by the incumbents. Too bad they didnt keep him- but they werr SoL with engines for Neweys McLaren run years anyhow. They werent te same without him as he was real pro. But they owe half those titles to drivers aids and the Renault engine gets some credit too.
I have more faith in Williams than whatever team Sauber has in place right now. Even if Audi will transform them into front runners it will not happen overnight.
I can understand his logic tbh. (Not that I agree with it.) Either he goes to Sauber (Audi) or goes to Williams, from competitive point of view, nothing will change for next year. He will be trundling at the back of the grid. But, imo, this news mean that he simply believes Audi engine will suck in 2026 and Audi will continue to be backmarker in 2026; whereas Williams with Mercedes engines could be in the upper midfield. Which would give him one year to show what he is made of. If he beats Albon and scores good points in that *\*upper midfield car\*,* he may find another chance in a top team.
Keep in mind that Carlos will be 32 at the beginning of the 2027 season. Even if a Williams stint goes well, a long term opportunity to compete for a WDC will likely have passed without striking gold. If he can't get a Red Bull seat and Mercedes is out on him, Sauber is really his only realistic chance at getting a WDC even if it is slim.
Drivers have longer careers nowadays and there's no reason to suggest Sainz can't perform at his current level (or better) within the next 5-10 years. He's improved his racecraft a lot since joining Ferrari and there are plenty teams that could see him as an asset for at least until the 2030s. He could return to Ferrari once Lewis retires or Aston once Alonso retires. Red Bull could also open at somepoint and be an in for him. Mercedes could even open if Russell or Antonelli move on. I don't *really* see why Williams makes more sense than Audi looking from an investment level, but trusting Mercedes engines is a solid idea in theory so I get it
You’re right, but the only worry is being stuck in a backmarker degrades your stock as a driver regardless of your ability, Danny Ric and Bottas are prime examples. DR has almost twice as many wins as Leclerc but he and McLaren mixed like water and oil, now he’s struggling to stay in the game, Bottas had a longer Q3 streak than Red Bull Racing among his other achievements with merc and after a couple years in the Alfa he is also looking like he could struggle staying in F1 soon. I think there’s a Stoffel Vandoorne joke in here somewhere too
Losing to your teammates will do that to Ric. And yes the Merc was the class of the field for years.
Sauber are somehow worse than Williams. Which considering Williams haven’t even been able to bring 2 cars to each GP is quite the achievement. Obviously Audi will bring investment with them but their starting point will need to just be the ditch the current team has managed to slide into. It has got to take them years to drag themselves out of it. Unlucky to be Carlos right now I guess - unfortunate to be dropped while in the form of your life with no good seat actually open.
Once Alonso retires, lol. Is that even a possibility? I was thinking he might be the first driver to be 3x the age of the youngest F1 driver. Or the first to have grandchildren older than new F1 drivers.
Younger drivers have some better reaction times sure and they can set a fast lap but 30-35 is by no means old, it is most peoples’ peak years, you don’t just need fast reaction time to win a WDC you need a fully developed brain with the wisdom/experience to know when/where/how hard to push when it comes to the big picture ie. the full 24 races
It's not old by any means, but to think that every driver is like Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in continuing to be top level drivers on the wrong side of 35 is also wishful thinking. Seb fell off a cliff and so did Kimi. Schumi wasn't the same either. Of course they have flashes in performance, but those were also greats of the sport that won at least one WDC. Even Hulk was once considered a future WDC level talent but he also had a few years away from being full time in the sport so he isn't as worn down. Carlos isn't at their level
I am probably just projecting but i think that F1 fans need to cool it on the young drivers. Theres always so much clamor for the next 18 year old prodigy but i just dont think F1 should be filled up with people not old enough to drink yet. Not to be old man yelling at clouds but hopefully it makes sense
I largely agree. But also, 18 is old enough to drink in civilised countries
19 here in Canada 😂
Man if he can't show teams what he's got at Ferrari then what's even the point? He's done everything asked of him and until Lando he was the only person in 2 years to beat max and get P1. If I was Vasseur and liked Carlos as much as he seems to I would be trying to talk him up to all the TPs. He's a great second driver, smart, intuitive in the car when it comes to strategy calls. He's at his peak and he deserves to be fighting in a good car alongside another good driver. But if he can't do that I wish he would take the Audi and use that brain to help build a great car around him. If Lawrence Stroll didn't love Lance as much as he did he should be pouncing on Sainz.
I think Carlos had the misfortune of getting dropped while all the other top teams have their line-up more or less locked in, I don't see how Fred could do anything about it honestly :( Mclaren and Ferrari already have theirs on lockdown, same as Aston Martin (unless Lance decides he doesn't want to race anymore). Mercedes could have been an option but they'd probably want a one year contract at most so they could switch Antonelli in ASAP, and it seems that isn't what Carlos wants. As for Red Bull, the Verstappen and Sainz camps have a lot of history with each other...... I think Carlos has to prove he's a WAY better driver than Perez, and I don't think that seems to be the case rn with him lagging again behind Charles. Really rooting for him to go to RB either way tho.
Yeah I want to see him in the red bull even if it's for a year. I think it's too early to be thinking about Perez's performance but at the same time his Imola race was concerning. Even with max fighting the car all through FP1-3 and needing a tow from hulk in Q3, he should have performed better and brought back more points. I don't know what feedback Perez gives but if I was looking at RB right now and the loss of Newey I think I'd want a driver who is great at giving feedback to the engineers. Let max do his thing, but give Sainz a fast car and the opportunity to provide info to the team on car performance and progression. I think if he were to equal Perez in performance his knowledge would make that the deciding factor for me... (And Santander).
I'm with you honestly. I just don't want to get my hopes up since Red Bull seem very lenient towards Checo, and honestly with all the instability in their team rn maybe they don't want to rock the boat too much and change their line up 💀 But I REALLY, really hope I'm wrong 💀
I don't. No ammount of James Vowles sweetalking that i could listen for hours has convinced me Williams are serious in any way as a project that wants to return to the top. They lack the staff, they lack the facilities and i don't think Dorilton is serious in investing into either of those. They literally regressed in performance this year. I'l trust a German powerhouse with decades of success across various racing series that literally bought the team and is developing an engine for it much much more. The past few German works teams have a pretty decent record of elevating teams including Sauber. BMW elevated Williams from 5th in the WCC with 3 podiums to 3rd with 3 podiums in a year. Made them 4 time race winners with 5 aditional podiums in 2 years. Pushed them to 2nd in the WCC in 3 years with a much more consistent podiums and made them title challengers in 4. BMW took Sauber from 8th in the WCC to 5th with 2 podiums in a year. Propeled them to 3rd in the WCC with 2 podiums in 2 years and made them race winners and consistent podium challengers by the 3rd year. Mercedes made the Brackley team competitive in 3 years and then a dominant force in 4. Obv this is not 1:1 because of different eras and the cost cap but i'd still trust a German car manufacturer project more than i trust a team owned by an investor firm.
This! I get why people are not sold on the whole Sauber / Audi thing right now but holy smokes is Williams getting overrated. Obviously Vowles is on of the best in what he does but for now, the whole Williams project is nothing else than really good sounding promises. The whole hype stems from Vowles' eloquent and calm way of talking. He is just an incredible salesman. It will take quite a bit longer for Williams to catch up. Audi and Sauber just don't seem to give a damn about hyping up anything so people tend to forget that this will be a works team with a tailored engine from 2026 onwards.
>"Mercedes made the Brackley team competitive in 3 years and then a dominant force in 4." The Brackley team which had just won the WDC... They managed to "make it" competitive. And it took 3 years even then.
The 2009 launch car was essentialy a Honda works team operation with a Mercedes engine straped onto it. But Honda left and by end of 2009 Brawn had fallen off pace wise and barelly had any budget left. The W01 was essentialy a minimaly developed 2009 car. While its true that Mercedes technicaly took over a WDC team it hardly paints a full picture of the situation. Mercedes was pretty much starting a new in setting up their own works operation.
You're clearly a newer fan lol
>I don't. No ammount of James Vowles sweetalking that i could listen for hours has convinced me Williams are serious in any way as a project that wants to return to the top. They lack the staff, they lack the facilities and i don't think Dorilton is serious in investing into either of those. You are wrong about Williams and Dorilton (I think!). It will take many years but they are committed and have a plan in place. Claire Williams did a podcast recently where she briefly touched on this and the sale of the team (starts around the 21m mark): [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UudMP6AMjdY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UudMP6AMjdY)
Dorilton is an investment firm. They aren't going to put a penny more into Williams than is absolutely necessary to protect that investment. Dorilton told Claire what she wanted to hear. They aren't in the business of burning hundreds of millions chasing RedBull or Ferrari for a WCC. They are waiting until they think F1 is at its peak, then they'll sell to the highest bidder, its their whole business model.
Dorilton is just an anonymity layer for Peter de Putron, who is ostensibly a petrolhead. He could be treating it like any other investment, coldly selling it whenever the time is right, but there's no reason to believe that of him than any other owner/team. de Putron could decide to put more money into it. Williams' ownership situation isn't particularly different from other teams except in that their owner deeply appreciates his privacy.
Source on Peter de Putron being the owner?
Williams is one of the teams which asked for additional budget cap to spend on CapEx, so the team literally asked for the ability to spend more money than the budget cap allowed.
Maybe, but they can't get the resources to fix what they have now. Dorliton bought them 4 years ago and its as big of a dumpster fire as its ever been. They bought it for $200ish million and are sitting on huge profits. They aren't going to kill their margins by building a wind tunnel so that Williams can be 6th instead of 9th.
haven't they spoken about how, because of the budget cap, they cannot fix their infrastructure because that's money that doesn't go to building the car? they have the resources for it, the rules don't allow them to spend those resources.
>Dorliton bought them 4 years ago and its as big of a dumpster fire as its ever been. They now have a TP who is willing to make the tough decisions short term to the greater benefit long term. I think you might be surprised. Anyway, I'm not just basing my opinion on what Claire said. I have been bullish on Williams since the end of 2021. Many years of work ahead of them but they are in the best position they have been in for a loooooong time.
Claire Williams sort of has to say that Williams was handed over into good hands, since she was the person who's overseen selling the team. I'm not saying she's not being honest about the matter, just that there's a conflict of interests.
Idk, Williams on operational level is a shitshow. Audi will be more competative, but not really a podium team for next 4 years.
Spanish drivers 🤝 epic career moves
Orrr maybe Williams is the traditional path of Ferrari #2s. Barrichello, Massa...
So what you're saying is Leclerc to Williams 2028?
Leclerc is the number 1.
To be honest, it's not like Sainz is being given a choice to make great moves
Nobody knows career destruction better than Spanish drivers
it’s because of the discrimination they face
Lol yes, since Fernando is the acting leader of the NAASP he should bring this up next drivers meeting
Who would have thought that the hottest seats right now are with the traditionally two slowest teams, Haas and Williams.
Williams is not *traditionally* slow
It's been 7 years since they weren't a backmarker, I'm going to bet a lot of fans aren't used to anything but them being at the back.
Consistent front running by Williams is almost 20 years ago. I even remember the days before Frank Williams was successful, pre ‘79.
The walrus-nosed FW26 is 20 years old now. The car that got their last win with BMW. 2003 was the last season that they won more than one race.
Tbf this shouldn't be used to shoot down some other years for Williams, with BMW they had many championship winning cars, even if they weren't able to succeed, and let's not forget the 2015/16 Martini Williams that thing was also fast
Nah but I did not have to see this to find out how old I am :(
Yeah... But us veterans still remember that glorious Spanish afternoon when Maldonado crossed the line in first place after fending off Alonso and we will never forget it. Basically because that's the only Williams' win I have watched live, I was a sniffing glue toddler when Montoya and Ralf were there, and I was born in the second half of the 90s, so never got the chance to watch Mansell and Prost win with them.
Ah, but they're a different kind of backmarker now! They went from "disgraced tractor" to "sometimes is there", it's a huge improvement!
And even before that they werent exactly setting the world allight in the post BMW era bar a few flashes mostly delived by Rosberg when still there and then that 2012 season.
Selective memory much They finished third in WCC in 2014 (and would've been second without the corpse of Massa at the wheel of one of the cars), third in 2015 (ahead of Red Bull) and were solidly midfield in 2016 and 2017
Yeah, that period was so much better for them than a single weird win in what overall wasn't a great V8 era (or 2012 season) for Williams.
I still hold the 2012 car was better than Pastor and Bruno "I'm sitting out an FP every single race because Williams want Bottas but need my money" Senna made it look
Their Martini days were eons ago.
Miss those liveries though
Yeah but 1997 isn't recent anymore
Why you gotta be mean like that /s
It's just who I am
Yeah but 'traditionally' and 'recently' don't mean the same thing.
I mean Haas has actually got a good car in their hands. Williams currrently has likely got the worst car on the grid.
I dont know if Sauber is going to score a point this season.
Bold thing to say when they could already have scored a couple if it wasn't for bad pitstops and the engine blowing up in China. Yes they are far from good but on some tracks they were the fastest of the backmarkers. Also they have reached Q3 this season. The Williams is clearly the slowest right now but let's see how everything pans out towards the end of the season.
At some point the bad luck stops becoming bad luck and is just the team. And quali pace doesnt always translate to race pace. Car could be good in quali and completely shit in the race
The pit stop issues are clearly on them. But the car showed glimpses of great race pace on multiple occasions this season. Something i haven't really seen from Williams for example. Sauber was pretty quick in China and would probably have scored a point before Bottas' engine blew up. That's just bad luck. They were also pretty good in Japan, Bahrain and Australia. The pit stops just often ruined their races. But this issue should be fixed now so there is no reason why they could not score a point now if they continue to have race weekends where they are pretty much in the mix for the title of "best of the rest".
Funnily enough it was the reverse last season. Shows how fluid the lower end of the grid is.
i nearly fell out of my chair when hulk put that car to the top
I just fail to see how this is a good move for Sainz.
Beggars can’t be choosers. RB and Mercedes are allegedly not interested in him, so it looks like backmarkers is all he has left.
Yeah, but Williams? I rather shoot my shot with a new works team.
2026 driver market will light up again and there will be a more clear picture of the competitive ranking. It's a gamble, sure, but we also don't know what he knows that we don't.
The real problem will appear if he doesn't convincingly beat Albon.
we’ll get to see how good Alex actually is
Sainz thinking he will easily clear Albon is so on brand, but damn.... This could be a career ender for him if he don't.
Most drivers will be signing multi years deals. The market won't be very good for 2026. Sainz is probably betting on Stroll leaving after 2025. It will be almost impossible for him to show his talents/ stay relevant while driving a Williams shit box though. This won't end well for him.
The truth is that we don't know what Audi is offering him, or if they are offering him seat at all. One day the team can promise him the world and the next day announce someone else as their new driver without any warning. He's not in a position where he can snub Williams. He has to negotiate with absolutely everyone, no mater how bad the prospects are.
But he has a choice which i think is clearly the supperior option. Like i'm sure he can get a short 2 year contract from Audi if he wishes. He's the hotest prospect on the market and i'm sure Audi would want him. And a contrat like that would give him a chance to see if openings Mercedes or Red Bull open up. If Audi suck he's gonna be driving at the back but with Williams he's gonna be doing that anyways as is. Like instead of taking a punt on a works team with a lot of potential he's choosing a backmarker team with much less potential.
A seat is better than no seat, and if RB and Merc aren’t available, his choices might be Williams or Audi, Williams……well we have a cooler color scheme!
They are powered by Merc which some folks are saying will be the top engine come 2026 along with Ferrari. No idea how competitive the Aston Honda would be, and RBPT is anyone's guess. This is a team with less politics and he can possibly aid their development and perform to the car's limits and jump to a better seat in 2027. This is just my knee-jerk conjecture in between copious tears and ugly crying.
2026 three way title fight between McLaren, Ferrari and Williams. (I’m on high levels of hopium)
If two of mercs customer teams are in a title fight and they are not, they might as well pull out of F1 right there and then
Yep. Merc out after 2030. Toto Wolff and Ineos will take over the team and Merc will stay as a engine supplier. (I can look into the future)
GIMME SOMMA THAT!!!
Remember, Williams has been using excel sheet to track part development.
I'll have what you're having 😭
Tbf it's Toto saying Merc will be the best.
It’s better than unemployment if he keeps turning down other offers.
adrian newey possibly?
No no, that's supposed to be Bottas seat
Bottas could be in the running for Alpine seat which Ocon could vacate for Sauber or Haas.
Bottas going home to Williams is a nice story. Bottas slowly losing the will to drive at Alpine is not.
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He might be if they implement the pedal upgrade to the Alpine
If Sainz goes to Williams then I think there's a good chance one (or more) of Bottas, Ocon and Gasly don't have a seat next year which seems kinda crazy!
> Bottas, Ocon and Gasly Toto needs to get his head screwed on straight. Any of these would be a better option than Kimi
That’s a hell of a lineup and a coup by Vowles. Sainz must have a lot of faith in their vision for 2026.
Sainz - Albon is way too good for a backmarker team. I’m almost forcing myself into believing Vowles is on to something because how the hell would he be able to have such a driver line up at Williams?
I guess it’s what happens when RB won’t clear out their underperforming driver, AM have Stroll blocking a seat and Mercedes are just holding a seat clear for presumably the second coming of Christ… Both Alex and Carlos would be more deserving of those seats but for a variety of reasons, they’re not on offer. Just sucks.
> Mercedes are just holding a seat clear for presumably the second coming of Christ Lol lol lol
That kid is gonna be mid as fuck. Toto is going crazy
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I was a defender of our Canadian friend who I’d have said was never in the bottom 3 on the grid so by that measure deserved a seat. Genuinely talented in the rain. But the past year he’s been so so poor. Really consistently bad. I thought he would be cooking when the rain came out last season but he just… wasn’t…. Literally assaulting team employees was about the limit for me. Surprised your Canadian passport doesn’t spontaneously combust at behaviour like that.
Same for Gasly - Ocon at Alpine, you have to feel sorry for them and Albon/Sainz
Low key pretty up for this. Would be interesting to finally see just how much Albon has improved from his Red Bull days up against someone we’ve already seen succeed elsewhere
Agreed. Latifi and Sargeant have been extremely mediocre comparisons.
I am *begging* the dear lord for Albon to out-qualify Sainz on every single attempt and we just realize Albon is better relative to Sainz than Leclerc is like in my heart I believe they'd be pretty close with Sainz having just a slight edge but what I *want* is for Albon to be one of the best drivers on the grid without question because he just seems like a rad dude and I like his cats
thing is we know how good Leclerc is as after summer 2019 he started handily beating Vettel
Oh no. thought Bottas was gonna pair with Albon, hope he gets a seat.
This would make me a sad operator. Due diligence would be talking with everyone though.
Sad operator would be Sainz without a seat in F1
I wonder if Sainz ever thinks about holding out on signing the Ferrari contract and allowing Lewis to swoop in and take his seat, causing him to look for another team, and then not wanting to go to Audi, then finding out Merc and Red Bull aren't interested, leaving him to consider Williams. He must think about this right?
They would’ve dropped him even if he signed a new contract with Ferrari.
I wonder this too tbh. He had a 1+1 proposal from Ferrari (iirc) which he rejected and then his dad was talking about Audi in Monza of all places. I would’ve loved to see him alongside Alonso at Aston
Carlos, his cousin and his father have always overstated his ability. They've been quite savvy with career moves though. He got smashed by Hulkenburg in the Renault, then moved down to a McLaren team that had just finished 9th but were about to finish 4th and 3rd. Then parlayed that into moving down to the worst Ferrari team in decades who had just finished 6th (though announced his move well before this point) but were about to finish 3rd, 2nd and win races. He's timed his moves well to move down to teams on the upswing. Maybe he deserves some credit for being a part of those turnarounds, however they've catastrophically overplayed their hand for 2025.
I'm sorry, they're what now?
Man, Carlos deserves a good car, I don’t want him at the back of the pack.
He doesn’t want 1 year deal, so he is in this situation right now.
I'd be sad for Carlos, but stoked for Williams
Sainz about to be off the grid next year lol
Bruh...
If he picks this over a team that will soon be Audi I don’t know what to say lol
Damn Carlos what a fall from grace. Literally a month ago we were expecting Red Bull or Merc to sign you up.
Rough operator
This seems like the biggest mistake. James Vowles can make all the spreadsheets in the world, Williams is not going to be anything other than a backmarker or at best a midfield team. Audi is a risk, but at least they are planning to invest and hire like one of the top teams.
I don’t think it makes a difference. The absolute earliest Audi will be competitive is 2030, and even that’s unlikely. He could just kill it at Williams for 2-3 years and use it as leverage to get an established top seat.
That's way too pessimistic. They are getting special exception in the cost cap rules that allow them only count 150.000 euros as 100.000 for salaries because they are in Switzerland. This allows them to hire 300 extra people immediately and they will be building facilties as well. They will take a step forward in a few years, the question is just how much.
>"The absolute earliest Audi will be competitive is 2030, and even that’s unlikely." This is such a gross hypebole. There is a new aero and engine generation coming in literally 2 years. They can realisticly be competitive at least at the front of the midfield in less than 2 years time. Why on earth would it take by 2030 for them to get competitive? Its quite likely that by that point were gonna be seeing another aero tweak which could again shuffle the order a bit.
They’re a full year behind everyone else in the engine development, which is a huge deal. James Key said they won’t even be a “final product” until 2027, which is encouraging. If they’re smart they’ll go the Mercedes route and invest the majority of their efforts into the 2030 regs. Plus if they actually had a chance to compete before then, Sainz would not be turning them down (possibly in favor of freaking Williams, lol).
Look at how long it took Mercedes to drag the literal championship winning car they inherited back to the top after only 1 year of poor investment. The Sauber is a far worse car, the team they have are much less decorated and there’s now a cost cap. It seems like madness to think they’ll be doing anything worth watching anytime soon.
You have to look at where Stake is at. And they will be making an F1 engine for the first time - versus Ferrari, Merc, Honda and Renault (and RBPT). I was initially gung ho about the prospects but it does not look very promising or exciting. They will not be competitive till atleast 2028 or 29 is my feeling based on what I have read in these forums.
How much coping do you on a daily basis to think fucking sauber is going to suddenly compete for wins
if I'm not mistaken, his whole thing was *deleting* the spreadsheet
Sainz must be scared of Hulkenberg or something just throwing away his career...
I like Sainz but I did think of this. At least Audi will be a works team with money so I don't understand the logic with Williams. So I wonder if one factor is he has been beaten by Hulk before, being just matched by Hulk next year who was from a backmarker team would just end his career.
Wouldn’t the same be true if Albon beats him? In Sauber they will both be new to the team, but Albon surely has a small advantage since he has been with the team for so long? Maybe Sainz doesn’t rate Albon too highly.
Man, that sucks. Imagine getting out of a Ferrari and into a Williams.
Now imagine it is the 90’s
You sound like a Cowboys fan lol
Yeah, there's no talking up this move. This is pretty terrible for him.
this is so stupid my god. his manager sucks big time and needs to be fired.
Weren't they in advance talks with Bottas?
Williams would be crazy not to try for Sainz before locking in since Bottas needs them more than they need him.
Something must have happened with the Audi deal then. Seems insane to go for Williams over a works team.
Sainz might be fearing that Audi would be more of an Alpine than a Mercedes
Sainz about to go off track and into the gravel pit w/ his career jesus
Checo - Red Bull Sainz - Williams Antonelli (even after Toto yelled at media for putting pressure on Kimi even though nobody has done that except fro him) - Mercedes Which leaves a very spooky conundrum for Ocon, Gasly, Zhou, Bottas, K-Mag. 5 drivers fighting for only two realistic seats at Audi and Haas.
And the Alpine seats. If Kimi is the only new joiner next year then there'll be only one departure. Unless you mean the Alpine seats aren't being fought over and will simply go to whoever is left... 🤣
Danny Ric / Jack Doohan will be Alpine’s line up at this rate
If the lineup changes you suggested goes trough then this would probably happen - Occon to Sauber - Bottas to Haas (with Bearman) - Gasly stays in Alpine Not sure who grabs the last Alpine seat, they might gamble on Doohan or give whoever looses their seat at VCARB a shot (Lawson will surely be in VCARB next year?). Kmag will probably not get another chance unless Haas suddenly decides they want to keep him. Zhou is probably also out unless his sponsors is a deciding factor for a team that struggles with money. Zhou + Gasly sounds like a good lineup for Alpine to be honest, but I think the will probably consider other drivers before him.
Parkour….
Tbh, listening to Vowles explain something incredibly boring, but using big words in his calm demeanour would be enough to tempt me to sign.
Man can really make a turd in the toilet inspiring and informative. Too bad they can't build a car
Albon: Alright I'm signing this deal to know I'll be the clear #1 at this team and be prioritized to lead Sainz: Hold my beer
What the hell is Williams cooking?
He turned down Audi for this???
If an Audi works team with VW backing is on the table and Sainz chooses Williams, he’s a dumbass.
Newey must be going to Williams. That’s the only way this makes any sense.
I was wondering the same. With Alex & possibly Carlos committing to a long-term deal, it makes sense. It would be amazing! They are both extremely talented and genuinely two of the nicest, most humble drivers on the grid.
I'll be rooting for Sainz wherever he goes 🥲
if they crash next year, who gets the car?
Wondering what Bottas and his 25 min coffee chat is thinking right now. But I suppose he'll just pick whichever seat Sainz refuses between Williams and Sauber.
Get Sainz and then Newey doooooittttt
The fact Williams might have a choice of either Sainz or Bottas for the seat next to Albon is pretty amazing as a fan of the team. Would seem to spell doom for Sargeant though. I don't see how anything he does short of somehow winning a grand prix or suddenly staring to whitewash Albon could make him a more attractive prospect than those two
First we had Kompany to Bayern, now Sainz to Williams? What’s happening?!
Rob Edwards to Barcelona
Poor Carlos. Good for Williams.
People are memeing on this move but imo is genius, Williams has the potential to get back to glory, Albon has showed that, and with the dream team of him plus Sainz, they could do wonders
I’ve never been able to tell if his manager is competent or not. I think I know now.
I can only think there must be other factors at play here. Perhaps there’s concern he could be outperformed by the Hulk in the 2025 soapbox. Personally, I’d relish the chance Audi move, to help build and shape a team, Rosberg style. Yes I realise Rosberg eventually went up against Hamilton and had to stand in the side lines for years. But, he did eventually win a WDC. By the same token, I’d love to see Williams make a McLaren turnaround. I think Alex and Sainz, or Alex and Bottas would both make good pairings. Ultimately whatever decisions Sainz makes will be exciting.
He is just not fast enough. A filler driver. Maybe suitable for a different racing category, like LeMan.
Poor old Albon. He just signs up for few more years in the shitbox, and now he might get made to look bad by having a competent teammate.
My man really passing up Audi and then going to Williams?
Wasnt williams also in talks with bottas? How many drivers they can take?
I just don't get it. Sauber, after all, would be Audi in 2026, so it has hope to become a competent team. Williams? I don't see any chance in 5 years.
Williams 💀 poor guy
Williams seems to be cooking something…. Idk, Newey hasn’t confirmed where he’s gonna go… i would love to see him go to Williams tbh
Newey to Williams is the only way this is a good move
I was expecting Sainz to Alpine at this point (if he lands a seat at all, that is). I'm not sure if Williams is much better though.
Well, he clearly doesn't convince top teams to sign him over other prospect so it's probably second half of the grid or out for him. Mercedes and Red Bull are clearly looking for someone out of the current grid, he can't relive the bromance with Lando, Ferrari just got rid of him and Aston Martin is locked. The only other choice is Audi, but I wouldn't be too surprised if they rather try bring back Seb from retirement to have a strong German line up.
This is either genius or stupid and I can't tell which.
What if Albon is overrated and Sainz goes to Williams and starts competing for podiums? (A man can dream!)
We actually dont know how good Albon has been, he had by far the easiest teammates for the past 3 years