Carlos Sainz is keeping an ‘eye’ out for a McLaren seat after his realisation about Williams

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Carlos Sainz is starting to realise that he made a ‘very bad decision’ joining Williams from Ferrari, and he is now keeping tabs on the situation at McLaren.

After a difficult start to life in Grove, Sainz started to find his feet towards the end of 2025, scoring two podiums in Baku and Qatar. Heading into 2026, which Williams heavily focused on, optimism was high.

However, that has come crashing down, with the team missing pre-season testing and delaying upgrades to the car. Sainz has scored four of the five points Williams have accumulated thus far, and he is not happy.

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Sainz blasted Williams in Miami during Sprint qualifying, stating that they were ‘three steps behind.’ They would go on to record their first double points finish in 2026, albeit it was P9 and P10.

The Grove outfit’s poor start to the season has got the Spaniard thinking about his future. Sainz has an exit clause in his contract, and he is now ‘keeping an eye’ on his former employer, McLaren.

Carlos Sainz realises he made a ‘very bad decision’ joining Williams – he is eyeing McLaren

Several teams are said to be keeping tabs on the 31-year-old. Sainz is the top candidate to replace Max Verstappen, should he retire from F1 in 2026.

Audi are also monitoring Sainz, having been interested in him when it was announced that he would be leaving Ferrari. However, the Spaniard’s attention has now been drawn to McLaren.

Oscar Piastri is being linked with Red Bull, which would open the door for Sainz to return to his former team. Journalist Julianne Cerasoli says he is watching the situation closely.

Guenther Steiner thinks Carlos Sainz should look to join a top F1 team

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She said via UOL Esporte: “There’s also a guy who’s keeping a very close eye on all this mess, and that’s Carlos Sainz, who realised that he made a pretty bad decision and he’s going to try to get back into the top teams, right?

“So he’d be keeping an eye on the seat at McLaren, because he has a good relationship there, he’s very well respected there, he had a good stint there, maybe he should never have left. But, I don’t know what it is with the Spaniards, right? The Spaniards and their career decisions.

“Everywhere he’s gone, things have got a bit worse, then improved; it’s had nothing to do with him, as he’s a very good driver. So there’s that factor there.”

READ MORE: Williams star Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height

Carlos Sainz had no regrets leaving McLaren in 2021

Sainz spent two years with McLaren in 2019 and 2020, helping the team grow from midfield mediocrity to competing for regular podiums. He left for Ferrari in 2021, and while McLaren have since gone on to be world champions, he does not regret his decision.

Asked on the Beyond The Grid podcast last year if he could have won the 2025 title instead of Norris at McLaren, he said: “No. And I tell you, why not? Because first of all, in 2021, in Ferrari, I achieved my first podiums of my career.

“In 2022, I won my first races and in 2023, while I was still winning races in Ferrari, McLaren were still almost dead last in the Qualifying of Bahrain. I would have thought back then, ‘I would be winning races with Ferrari’.

“I think it [leaving McLaren] was the right thing to do at the right time. And the only thing I feel is happiness for the team. I feel honestly happy for them. I don’t feel any regrets.

“Lando has been always quick since the day he became an F1 driver. I think he’s just become a bit more of an all rounder through the last six years, and, he’s become more championship material. And then he confirmed it in 2025 with a very strong second part of the season.”