Carlos Sainz isn’t second‑guessing himself. A year on from choosing Williams over Audi-bound Sauber for 2025, the Spaniard says the long game still looks like the right one.
Speaking at the Hungaroring, Sainz admitted there were moments of doubt when he signed last July with Williams sitting ninth. But the picture’s clearer now. He talked up the “momentum” behind Grove’s 2026 project and stressed that his move was never about this season’s box scores anyway. In his words, he joined for ’26, ’27 and ’28 — and the more he sees, the better it looks. There’s still a long to‑do list, he added, but the focus is head down, groundwork first.
That conviction’s been tested by Sauber’s surge under Jonathan Wheatley and Nico Hülkenberg’s breakthrough podium at Silverstone — the sort of headline that inevitably sparks “wrong call?” whispers. Sainz has had to graft through a lean start at Williams, with results harder to come by than anyone in blue would like. Meanwhile, the soon‑to‑be Audi outfit has shown genuine teeth ahead of F1’s rules reset.
Context matters. Sainz was told early last year he’d be making way at Ferrari for Lewis Hamilton, which kicked off the most-watched driver market saga in ages. He weighed options with Alpine and Sauber before settling on a multi‑year Williams deal, a bet on Mercedes power and the team’s ongoing rebuild to pay off when the 2026 regulations arrive.
The noise around his choice hasn’t been helped by Ferrari’s own drama. Hamilton’s first half of 2025 has been bruising by his standards, and after a rough Hungary weekend — where Charles Leclerc stuck it on pole while Hamilton slumped in qualifying — the seven-time champion hinted at “a lot going on in the background that’s not great.” That fuelled chatter about a possible early split, with ex‑F1 driver Johnny Herbert even floating a sensational Sainz return to partner Leclerc. Sainz, for his part, hasn’t taken the bait beyond a non‑committal “maybe” in a light interview exchange, and Williams remains his stated project.
Strip it back and Sainz’s stance is simple: don’t judge the move by 2025 alone. Williams believes it’s building the right foundations for the new era, and Sainz is tying his fortunes to that vision. Sauber/Audi might be the form story right now, but the Spaniard sounds convinced that patience — and the next ruleset — will vindicate his call. The next few months are about stacking small wins and carrying momentum into ’26. After that, the stopwatch will settle the argument.
