Carlos Sainz silences Williams ‘doubts’ after Ferrari departure
Carlos Sainz opted to choose Williams over other options for 2025.
Carlos Sainz admitted “there were doubts” from outside about his move to Williams in 2025, but he believes the season he put together is enough to show optimism for 2026.
Sainz’s future was a hot topic of speculation after it was announced he would be making way for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, though after discussing a move with every team with an available seat for 2025, the Spanish driver ultimately landed at Williams on a multi-year deal.
Carlos Sainz: ‘There were doubts [about] the way I was going’
The 31-year-old urged patience as he got used to his new surroundings, with Alex Albon enjoying much better form in the first half of the season as Williams produced a car worthy of the midfield positions.
Sainz was able to close the gap as the year progressed, though, earning his first podium as a Williams driver in Azerbaijan, before following that up with another third place finish in Qatar.
Ultimately, Sainz earned 48 points in the final third of the season where Albon did not register any, but the Thai driver still finished nine points ahead of his new teammate come the end of the campaign.
With Sainz having taken a bet on Williams, alongside its Mercedes power, with a view to potentially challenging further up the field in all-new cars in the 2026 season, the Grove-based team secured fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship – its highest placing since 2017.
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“I think it’s a season to be proud of,” Sainz told PlanetF1.com and other media in Abu Dhabi.
“I think many people, when I left to Williams at the end of last year, doubted the move, and there were doubts surrounding my future and the way I was going.
“I think after this year, it’s very clear to everyone that I’ve come to a project that is hungry to get back to winning ways.
“I’ve got back to podium ways earlier than expected, I think, earlier than what people and even myself expected. Now, the next target is to go back to winning ways, and I think I’m in the right place at the right time to do that.
“The only thing I do is urge the team to keep pushing, keep giving it all, because I see the potential. But in this sport, progress one year doesn’t mean progress the next year.
“So, you need to keep being hungry, keep being disciplined, and keep pushing harder than ever to make sure that next year we can run other stuff.”
Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher
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