Carlos Sainz admits he’s working out if Williams’ timeline matches ‘how long I’m willing to wait’

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Carlos Sainz believes James Vowles’ target of having Williams fighting with the top F1 teams by 2028 is “realistic”, but it might not match the Spaniard’s plans for his career.

Williams team principal Vowles recently shifted the goalposts in Grove once again after their difficult start to the 2026 regulations era. While Williams were one of the first teams to view the 2026 season as a priority in 2025, delays in the winter have left them playing catch-up.

Now, while Williams had viewed F1’s 2026 regulations as their route back to the top, Vowles does not expect them to be competing against the current leading teams until 2028 or even later. After the first seven rounds of 2026, Williams are already 251 points behind Mercedes.

Alex Albon securing a P8 finish in the Monaco Grand Prix also marks Williams’ best result of the 2026 F1 season so far. Sainz has achieved three P9 finishes, coming in China, Miami and Canada, meanwhile, to sit a point ahead of Albon in 14th and 15th in the drivers’ standings.

Will Carlos Sainz ever drive for a top F1 team again? If so, who?

Toto Wolff confirmed that Carlos Sainz was an option before Mercedes signed Kimi Antonelli

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Carlos Sainz is ‘working out’ if Williams’ 2028 target aligns with how long he is ‘willing to wait to win’

Sainz admits it is “difficult to think about podiums” in 2026, given that Williams are still on the road to recovery after their difficulties during the winter. The 31-year-old also does not suspect that Williams will be at the stage they should have begun 2026 until later this year.

READ MORE: The best moments of Carlos Sainz’s career in Formula 1

Vowles’ target of making Williams a competitive F1 frontrunner by 2028 is possible, though, for Sainz. But the Spaniard has revealed that he is having to work out whether Williams and Vowles’ target aligns with his goal of competing for Grand Prix victories as soon as possible.

Sainz told Mundo Deportivo: “I think it’s a realistic goal now. But it’s also true that the step backwards we’ve taken this year might have delayed that goal by a few months or a year.

“I don’t know exactly how much it’s delayed it in terms of my timeline, how long I thought this project would take to become a winning team. It’s true that last year we were closer to the leaders than expected, and this year we’re further away than expected.

“So, perhaps one thing balances out the other. And it’s something I’m working out, also in my head, how long I’m willing to wait to win again in Formula 1.

“I want that time to be as short as possible, and that’s why, even though James says 2028, I’m going to push the team to make it happen sooner.”

Williams sealed a huge coup when they signed Sainz for the 2025 F1 season after his release from Ferrari to make way for Lewis Hamilton’s move to Maranello. Sainz rejected offers from Audi and Alpine to join Williams, with the 2026 regulations the carrot at the end of the stick.

But while Alpine have shot up the order under the 2026 rules, along with securing the same customer Mercedes engine supply that Williams enjoy, the Grove squad have not had much to celebrate. Now, Sainz’s timeline for tasting champagne again may see him leave Williams.

Four-time career Grand Prix winner Sainz joined Williams on an initial two-year contract that carries options to stay for the 2027 and the 2028 seasons. But it is said that Sainz’s manager has approached Red Bull, given the uncertainty surrounding Max Verstappen’s future there.