One ‘big’ move next season? F1 2026 Williams driver line-up

Never mind Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari, the end of 2026 will see a huge “driver market move” as F1’s superstars weigh up their futures after one year of the new regulations.

And it could impact Williams with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon.

Sainz? Albon? Williams F1 2026 F1 line-up?

Last year, Sainz lost his Ferrari race seat to Lewis Hamilton is the most seismic driver change since Michael Schumacher left Benetton for Ferrari three decades earlier.

But it won’t end there, declared Williams team principal James Vowles.

Joining Williams on the back of four years and four race wins with Ferrari, questions were asked almost from the get-go about how long Sainz was committed to Williams as he went from teh front of the grid to F1’s midfield.

Williams, and the driver, insisted it was a multi-year contract with no immediate escape clause.

More recently, though, it’s Albon who has been in the shop window as he has outscored Sainz by 54 points to 16.

A Red Bull reject, the Thai-British racer’s results have stood up against Red Bull’s two most recent recruits, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, with only the vastly more experienced Sergio Perez standing apart.

It has, F1 rumour mill claims, Red Bull’s 49 per cent Thai ownership in Charlem Yoovidhya keen on bringing Albon back into the fold.

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But whether it is Albon or Sainz, Max Verstappen to Red Bull, Charles Leclerc to Mercedes, Vowles is convinced there will be at least one “big” move at the end of the F1 2026 season.

After 12 years of the present engine formula, and four years of ground-effect aerodynamics, Formula 1 is set to put all-new cars on the grid next season.

And it will shake up the grid, not just in the pecking orders, but also the driver line-ups.

“I think the end of 2026 will be another big driver market move. A lot of contracts come up at that stage,” the Williams chief explained to Sky F1.

“Simple answer is this.

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“I have two drivers that believe in what we’re doing in terms of the longevity of this team, the investments in this team, and the direction to go back towards winning championships.

“And my job in all of this is making sure they’re fairly rewarded for that journey, and they want to be a part of that journey as well at the same time. And that’s what I can provide and offer them.”

But as F1’s rumour mill suggests Red Bull may want Albon, Ferrari may want to recall Sainz, Vowles says this is a case of money or the box, or money and the ethics.

“Now if someone else wants to offer them twice that money, that’s their choice in doing so,” he said.

“But they are key leaders that are having a direct impact on what this car looks like tomorrow and what it looks like in a year’s time – something not provided to a lot of drivers up and down the grid. Almost treated as a separate asset, a separate entity that comes in. That’s not what we provide here.

“And the second part of it is making sure we have conversations early enough in 2026 that this is where I want us to be for the future, and instead of letting things linger until the August break, commit early.”

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