Carlos Sainz explains key factor behind long-term Williams commitment

ZANDVOORT – Carlos Sainz said that while he had offers from other teams, he never fully considered them as he was determined to stay with Williams.

Following speculation that the four-time race winner was unhappy at Grove and looking for a move away, the team announced he had signed a new deal to stay until at least the 2027 season.

Carlos Sainz details reasons behind contract renewal

Amid a disappointing campaign for a team that had sacrificed previous seasons in preparation for this year, there was a suggestion that Sainz was considering a move away with Audi highlighted as a possible new home. Instead, the 31-year-old has confirmed his future with James Vowles’ team, saying he was as committed now as he was on the day he joined.

Ahead of the final Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, the media were given an opportunity to dig a little deeper on the motivations behind the contract renewal and Sainz said that while there were offers from other teams, he never fully explored them due to his desire to stay with his current employer.

“I think you guys know me by now. I don’t think it’s part of my character to jump ships when the situation is at its worst,” he said.

“I think I told everyone how committed I am to this project two years ago, how excited I was about it, and the first time there is a bump on the road, big bump, probably bigger than anyone could have imagined after the podiums of last year, I don’t think it’s part of my way of my character to jump ships at the first possible opportunity.

“So I think in the back of my head, I wanted to always renew, but I was obviously worried, concerned that we need to make sure this doesn’t happen again. And I obviously had to go back to everyone and understand where we are, where we’re planning to go, and how has this affected our plans?

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“[I did not] fully go into considering them [offers] because, as I told you, my main priority has always been Williams, and as I said, my main focus after seeing the big dip in performance is to understand why is this happening. I want to be here in the long term. How can we get out of this together as soon as possible?”

A new contract does not mean Sainz is entirely happy with the situation that he currently finds himself in. He described the Williams car as one that “got the principles wrong” and said it should never be allowed to happen again.

“I believe in the project,” the former Ferrari driver said. “I said that from the beginning.

“This was a massive blow to my expectations, especially after how well we did last year. I think last year didn’t help the fact that it also exceeded my expectations and probably lifted my expectations for this year and the reality is that this year’s turned out to be the perfect storm of all the problems possible, and we’ve come up with a car that is late, a car that is overweight, and a car without downforce. Which, in Formula 1 terms, is everything that you want to achieve in a car.

“We got, let’s say, the principles wrong, and as a team, I want to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.

“But at the same time, I’m not going to leave a project that I believe the driver is a fundamental part of showing commitment to all the workers, all the 1,000 people behind the scenes. I didn’t want to leave anyone hanging and commit to the project.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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