Carlos Sainz responds when asked if he sees himself returning to the Red Bull family one day

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Carlos Sainz was snubbed by three of Formula 1’s elite last year. That forced him to turn to Williams, who offered a longer-term project.

First, Ferrari informed Sainz they wouldn’t renew his contract because the opportunity to sign Lewis Hamilton had emerged. Statistically, Hamilton has been a downgrade on his predecessor this year, with Charles Leclerc much more dominant in the intra-team head-to-head.

Meanwhile, Helmut Marko resisted the idea of signing Sainz for Red Bull. The Spaniard started his career at Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls) in 2015 and left just before the end of his third season.

Red Bull dropped Liam Lawson, their chosen replacement for Sergio Perez, after two races, and Yuki Tsunoda is expected to leave at the end of the season.

Finally, Sainz held talks with Mercedes, but they too opted to promote from within. Kimi Antonelli has had an unconvincing rookie season, scoring just 27% of his team’s points.

Carlos Sainz says winning with Williams would be more satisfying than Red Bull return

In an interview with El Partidazo de COPE, it was put to Sainz that the three aforementioned teams are ‘doing worse’ after overlooking the Spaniard.

Addressing a potential move in the future, Sainz stressed that his priority is to win with Williams. Given that the team were second from bottom in the constructors’ when he joined, this would be the most satisfying achievement of his career.

But Sainz wouldn’t completely rule out returning to the Red Bull or Ferrari family, nor a switch to Mercedes. Williams must retain his faith.

He was asked: “The big teams that spoke to Carlos or had Carlos – Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes – are doing worse than Carlos Sainz would. Do you see yourself returning to one of those teams or are you already so convinced with Williams that you say, ‘Hey, I am going to beat them from here’?

“Well, first of all, I have a contract with Williams for next year, as you know,” he replied. “Right now, my head is focused on Williams. I’m very motivated by the Williams project.

“I’ve told you many times that nothing would excite me more than winning with Williams one year. They were the ones who believed in me during the most complicated moment of my career.

• READ MORE: Carlos Sainz says the door is still ‘open’ for him to join Ferrari

“It motivates me a lot. If one day I am able to win a race with Williams, just as I have already been able to achieve a podium finish when people perhaps didn’t expect it, there will never be a better feeling inside me.

“Things have to go well within Williams for that to happen. Time will tell if opportunities will come or not.”

Carlos Sainz had serious doubt about Williams before Azerbaijan podium

It has recently emerged that Sainz had the option to leave Williams at the end of his first year through an exit clause in his contract. Unsurprisingly, he won’t exercise it.

Sainz delivered an incredible podium finish at the Azerbaijan GP last month, the team’s first since 2021. That catapulted him to the brink of the top 10 in the standings.

F1TV’s Lawrence Barretto says Sainz was worried he’d joined the wrong team at his lowest moments of 2025. He felt as if he was driving at a high level but seeing no reward.

But the Baku result has transformed the narrative. Williams want to win by 2027 or 2028 and, based on the leap they’ve taken this year, James Vowles’ transformative plans are on schedule.