Alex Albon shares ‘realistic’ timeline for Carlos Sainz to win races at Williams

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Carlos Sainz is leaving Ferrari, the team currently third in the constructors’ championship, to race for Williams, who are second from bottom. He lost his seat with the Scuderia after Lewis Hamilton became available for 2025.

Sainz would have expected to remain at the front of the grid. There was a clear vacancy at Mercedes following Hamilton’s exit, while Sergio Perez was out of contract at Red Bull.

And when he won the Australian Grand Prix in March, his stock was at an all-time high. He was the only non-Red Bull driver to win multiple races since the middle of the 2022 season.

But that wasn’t enough to secure a top seat. Mercedes offered Sainz a one-year deal, indicating he would be at risk of losing his seat to Kimi Antonelli or Max Verstappen for 2026.

At Red Bull, Christian Horner refused to reunite Sainz and Verstappen, who’d had a tense relationship at Toro Rosso in 2015. This meant that the Spaniard was left choosing between F1’s bottom three teams.

Sainz ultimately elected to sign for Williams, where he’ll partner Alex Albon. The Thai driver is responsible for all four points they’ve scored this season.

Alex Albon explains why Carlos Sainz might not win another race until 2027

Speaking to Autosport, Albon relayed James Vowles’ long-term vision. The former Mercedes strategist is determined to lead the iconic team back to the front.

The 2026 regulation changes could potentially play into their hands. Resets of this magnitude tend to reshuffle the running order, and Williams will have the advantage of a Mercedes engine.

Albon reckons that Williams can contend for wins in the second year of that ruleset. They haven’t stood on the top step of the podium since 2012, when Pastor Maldonado took victory in Spain.

Sainz will hope that he can pad out his trophy cabinet before the end of his time with Ferrari. It may be a while before there are any additions thereafter.

“If I am being totally honest, I don’t see us being in position to fight for wins and titles for a while, but to do steps where we start nipping in and getting podiums and whatnot,” Albon said. “I believe that 2026 would be difficult, but winning in ’27 would be much more realistic.”

James Vowles’ second choice for Williams speaks up

Sainz’s future developed into a saga. Williams readied an announcement at the Spanish GP, only for the home hero to delay.

It then looked as if Sainz was about to join Alpine, but he may have been put off by the ongoing instability at the team. Talk of a move to Mercedes resurfaced in early July amid Antonelli’s inconsistent F2 form, but he responded emphatically with two wins in two weekends.

It’s unclear whether Sainz sees Williams as the ‘least worst’ option, or is genuinely invested in the long-term project. Vowles issued a blunt reaction to talk of an exit clause if a top team comes knocking.

If he had rejected their offer, then Williams were ready to promote Franco Colapinto. The Argentine has been impressing in F2 this season, but insists he’s ‘happy’ they’ve secured a talent of Sainz’s calibre.