What disappointed Carlos Sainz’s family during F1 driver’s market talks before signing for Williams

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Williams Racing team principal James Vowles was delighted to sign off the start of the 2024 summer break by announcing that he had finally secured his top target for next season.

Carlos Sainz will be a Williams driver in 2025 alongside Alex Albon in a pairing that will be the envy of all of their midfield rivals.

Williams have only scored four points this season and at the previous races in Hungary and Belgium didn’t look like they were going to threaten the top ten.

However, there is faith that the team are on an upward trajectory and can push forward in 2025 and when the new regulations are introduced to the sport the following year.

Williams will have access to Mercedes engines which play a part in Albon signing an extension and could end up being the strongest power unit on the grid.

That may give Sainz the opportunity to fight further forward than Williams’s current drivers are right now although there are no guarantees in Formula 1.

It’s no secret that Sainz took his time to decide where he would be driving next after departing Ferrari.

Journalist Lawrence Barretto was speaking on the Pad-Hoc Podcast and discussing Sainz’s eventual decision.

He believes that there was potentially some disappointment within the Sainz camp about how the driver market played out.

When Lewis Hamilton was announced as Sainz’s replacement before the season even started, nearly every team on the grid had a decision to make about their 2025 line-up.

In the end, the only options available to Sainz were at the back of the grid, with Sauber and Alpine the final two teams where there’s still some debate over next year’s drivers.

Considering the calibre of driver Sainz is, it’s been hard for his camp to take that there wasn’t interest from manufacturers closer to the front of the grid.

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Carlos Sainz’s family disappointed with lack of interest from top Formula 1 teams

Talking about Sainz’s contract situation, Barretto said: “I think what is most disappointing from the family’s perspective, my belief, at least, is Red Bull and Merc just didn’t chase him properly.

“Yeah, they never really went after him and I’m almost certain neither of them really genuinely ever offered him anything, whether that’s a one-year deal.

“I don’t think it ever got to the point where it was serious enough to give him something that he would consider.

“To the point where I then don’t think he really went through the proper thought process of what would he do with a year’s deal.

“I think the reality is he just had to come to the point where he had to make a decision. He definitely didn’t want to have no chair when the music stopped, so he needed something.”

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff kept Carlos Sainz option alive without acting on it

It’s understandable that Sainz and his family never received an offer from the likes of Mercedes despite the Spaniard looking like a very strong option for the team.

Toto Wolff admitted that Sainz was definitely a driver he was considering but if a contract was on the table then it’s hard to see the three-time race winner committing to Williams at this stage.

Instead, it appears as though Kimi Antonelli will receive a promotion into Lewis Hamilton’s race seat for 2025 as Mercedes look set to put their faith in a driver would could race for them for years to come.

The Italian teenager has impressed in recent weeks in Formula 2, with Williams boss Vowles pinpointing one moment at Spa from Antonelli that he loved.

Sainz now has to concentrate on making the most of the opportunity he’s been handed by Williams for next season.

He’ll have a tough teammate to beat in Albon, but getting the better of the Thai driver will put him on the radar of the top teams once again.