Carlos Sainz told F1 rival team move is a 'no-brainer', but one driver stands in his way

Carlos Sainz, Williams, Saudi Arabia, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Carlos Sainz told F1 rival team move is a 'no-brainer', but one driver stands in his way

Where will Sainz be racing in 2027?

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 3 August 2026 09:44

Make us your Google favorite

If there is one driver on the current F1 grid who knows all about the power of holding silly season in the palm of their hand, it is Carlos Sainz.

When Ferrari announced their blockbuster signing of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in 2024, fans of the Spaniard quickly realised their favourite driver would be without a seat for 2025.

Sainz's team-mate at the time, Charles Leclerc, is currently in his eighth season of racing with the Scuderia in F1, and is known as 'The Prince of Ferrari', so there was no chance of the Maranello-based squad sending him packing.

Article continues under video

Instead, it was Sainz who had his pick of the bunch, and when he eventually settled on Williams as his new team, he finally allowed the driver transfer market to open up for the rest of his rivals who had been eagerly awaiting his decision.

But two years on and Sainz finds himself having to re-evaluate his choice as Williams have dropped to third from last in the constructors' standings, a disappointing fact for anyone but one that must hurt Sainz especially considering he picked up two podiums with the squad in 2025 prior to their performance U-turn thanks to the new regulations.

Rumours are swirling over where Sainz could go if he opts to not extend his Williams contract which is set to expire at the end of 2026, but one insider of the sport has warned the decision might be taken out of the 31-year-old's hands altogether.

F1 HEADLINES: Hamilton ridiculed as 48-race plan revealed

Could Alonso block Sainz Aston Martin move?

Ahead of the current F1 summer shutdown, Sainz finished P18 at the Hungarian GP and told media the situation at James Vowles' F1 squad was 'very bad.'

He confirmed he would take time to discuss his options with his team and with Williams boss Vowles over the break, but warned that even he was not sure of an exit timeline for when he would announce his decision over his future on the grid.

In a new episode of the Sky Sports F1 show podcast commentator David Croft weighed up Sainz's tricky decision over whether to gamble with trusting Williams to turn things around or try to find a seat at a team like Aston Martin, who have become a works team this year with Honda.

"James Vowles has always impressed me and I think he's a fine team principal who has gone in there and not accepted second best and and gone about trying to bring Williams back to to to their glory days," began Croft.

"But it will take time, you know, years of underinvestment and I don't want to say mismanagement, but I don't think that the leadership team got it right more than they got it wrong for many, many years there.

"Has he got the budget that he would like? Probably not within the cost cap. Is he hiring the people that he wants? I think so. There are good people going to Williams to bolster what is a very good workforce there anyway. And I think in time they will absolutely get it right."

Turning his attention back to what he felt would be best for Sainz's career, Croft then added: "But if you've got the chance to go to a works team, an Aston Martin of the Honda works team, you take it.

"It's not a negative towards Williams, but it's a positive to be at a team that makes their own engines or has the engines made for them.

"Williams are a customer team to Mercedes and and we've heard a lot of talk this year about how being a customer team can impact your performance when you go racing. So I think that's a no-brainer."

If such a move was on the table, Sainz surely would have accepted it already.

However, another major player in this year's silly season is 45-year-old Fernando Alonso, who ironically is Sainz's childhood hero.

Unpacking how the F1 veteran could be blocking a dream move for his compatriot, at least for the 2026 campaign, Croft concluded: "But if Fernando's staying then I think Carlos probably needs to stay where he is for at least a year and then make the move at the end of of 2027 if there's a seat available. But you know, watch this space with interest."

F1 Silly Season 2026: Verstappen, Mercedes and every driver move

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography

F1 Aston Martin Carlos Sainz Fernando Alonso Williams Sky Sports F1