Damon Hill gives his verdict on Carlos Sainz joining Williams in 2025

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Carlos Sainz has been the ‘cork in the bottle’ of the Formula 1 driver’s market this season but that pressure has finally been relieved after deciding his next destination on the grid.

Kevin Magnussen said Sainz was holding up the driver’s market but now the Spanish driver has announced that he’ll sign for Williams next season.

Carlos Sainz saw plenty of potential options up and down the grid but the seats he was most interested in were never available to the 29-year-old.

Red Bull have decided to stick with Sergio Perez beyond the summer break despite his faltering form since signing a new contract.

Whether that’s enough to save him beyond 2024 is another matter, but concerns over the relationship between Sainz and Verstappen’s camp made a deal very unlikely.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said Sainz was a definite option but that never materialised.

Aston Martin confirmed Fernando Alonso early in the season and McLaren nailed down Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri before the campaign started, meaning Sainz was suddenly faced with the prospect of dropping down to one of the team’s struggling to score points this year.

Sainz eventually chose Williams and will partner Alex Albon in 2025 and potentially going into the new era of the sport’s regulations in 2026.

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill took to Instagram to share his verdict on the move.

The Spanish driver will hope to see some progress from Williams over the final 10 race weekends of the season.

Albon has only managed to finish in the points twice this year, while Logan Sargeant is the only non-Sauber to fail to finish in the top ten this season.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Williams Racing from team principal to Mercedes relationship

Damon Hill reacts to Carlos Sainz signing for Williams

Williams confirmed on Monday that Sainz has signed a contract for ‘2025, 2026 and beyond’ which suggests he’ll be joining Albon for at least the next two seasons.

James Vowles’s outfit have been working hard behind the scenes to upgrade their facilities in Grove and bring in hundreds of new staff members to boost their numbers.

Wiliams are undoubtedly a team on the rise although they’re starting from a very low point given their poor points tally this season.

Commenting on Sainz’s move to Williams, Hill said on social media: “Williams will have a very potent driver combo for 2025.”

It’s hard to disagree with the 1996 F1 World Champion with Albon and Sainz the envy of the current midfield teams.

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

Carlos Sainz vs Alex Albon head-to-head F1 career so far ahead of Williams move

Sainz is only a year older than Albon but made his Formula 1 debut four years before the Thai driver.

Albon is approaching his 100^th race start in F1 having taken a year out after being dropped by Red Bull in 2021.

Meanwhile, the Dutch Grand Prix will be Sainz’s 200^th entry into an F1 race although he’s technically only started 196 Grand Prix.

Sainz’s points tally currently sits at 1144.5, easily trumping Albon’s count of 232.

Albon has stood on a Formula 1 podium twice at the Turkish and Bahrain Grand Prix in 2020, meanwhile, Sainz has visited the rostrum on 23 occasions.

Sainz achieved his third F1 victory in Melbourne this season, while Albon is still waiting for his first win and it appears he’ll be waiting for a lot longer to achieve that feat given where Williams currently sit in the pecking order.