James Vowles shares when Carlos Sainz will be able to leave Williams

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Williams are awaiting the arrival of Carlos Sainz with huge excitement. The Grove outfit confirmed at the start of the summer break that they had won the race for his signature.

It represents one of the biggest coups the F1 driver market has seen in years. Ordinarily, a driver of Sainz’s calibre wouldn’t be available to a struggling team like Williams.

But the availability of Lewis Hamilton changed everything. Hamilton opted out of the second year of his Mercedes deal to make a dream move to Ferrari.

The seven-time world champion was perhaps one of only two drivers, alongside Verstappen, who could have unseated Sainz. He’s done little wrong in the last four seasons, having been a close match for Charles Leclerc.

Even then, James Vowles would have expected Sainz to join another frontrunner. Both Mercedes and Red Bull had openings for 2025.

But Toto Wolff only offered Sainz a one-year deal as he looked to build around Kimi Antonelli or indeed Verstappen further down the line. And Red Bull feared tension in the garage if they signed the Spaniard, so they never formalised any interest.

Carlos Sainz free to ‘review’ Williams future at the end of 2026

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the opening practice session at the Dutch Grand Prix, Vowles offered more details on Williams’ move for Sainz. He’ll be replacing the underperforming Logan Sargeant at the iconic team.

The 29-year-old has signed a four-year contract, but the team boss says he’s free to leave at the end of 2026 should he desire. Williams also have the option to terminate the agreement, but that seems unlikely.

He will likely make his decision based on how Williams fare in the first year of F1’s new ruleset. Sainz expects their Mercedes engine to be the best on the grid, which is partly why he joined.

Teammate Alex Albon thinks Williams can win by 2027. But if a faster route back to the top step emerges before then, it may interest Sainz.

“Our deal is very long,” Vowles said. “Effectively after 26, we can take a review – both of us. What he wanted to commit to in his mind was ‘do I want to be somewhere for four years, and if it is, what does it look like?’.”

Does Carlos Sainz’s Williams deal feature a ‘Mercedes’ clause

Williams will be particularly delighted that he was able to secure a long-term commitment from Sainz. But contracts in Formula 1 are rarely watertight, and his new signing will remain on the radar of the big hitters.

Vowles gave a blunt response when he was asked if Sainz’s deal featured a special exit clause for Mercedes or Red Bull. He’s being careful what to disclose.

Jolyon Palmer thinks Sainz deserves to drive for Red Bull. But he may be reliant on Verstappen leaving before that becomes an option given their fractious relationship at Toro Rosso.

Sainz held up the F1 driver market for much of the season. F2 driver Franco Colapinto claims he was Williams’ plan b if they couldn’t pull off the audacious move.