What the ‘most important’ thing was for Carlos Sainz in 2025 contract talks before joining Williams

Follow us on Google Discover

Carlos Sainz ended all the talk about where he would be driving in 2025 by confirming his move to Williams at the beginning of the summer break.

It fills in one of the most important pieces of the puzzle for next season’s grid after months of speculation.

However, when Carlos Sainz was first informed that 2024 would be his final season with Ferrari, nearly every team in the paddock potentially had a seat available for the Spaniard.

Quickly one manufacturer after another confirmed their line-ups with Sainz supposedly no closer to confirming his spot on the grid.

It was inevitable that the 29-year-old would still be a Formula 1 driver in 2025 given he’s one of the strongest drivers in the sport right now, but his options disappeared faster than he would have liked.

Sainz was also left frustrated that Mercedes never made a move for him even though Toto Wolff admitted Sainz was a driver he was interested in.

Speaking on the Pad-Hoc Podcast, journalist Lawrence Barretto provided more details on Sainz’s search for a new team.

The three-time race winner has plenty of experience when it comes to negotiations with different teams on the grid.

Williams will be the fifth different team he’s raced for in F1 and every manufacturer he’s represented has worked with Sainz for several years.

Barretto doesn’t think this is a coincidence and has suggested that Sainz believes a multi-year deal is the ‘most important’ thing he looks for in a contract.

That will certainly suit Williams team principal James Vowles who is keen to emphasize that the Grove-based team is a long-term project rather than an outfit chasing immediate success.

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

Multi-year contract the ‘most important’ thing for Carlos Sainz before signing for Williams

Willams confirmed in a press release that Sainz will be driving for them in both 2025 and 2026.

It would be a surprise if there wasn’t the option of an extension in that deal as well, giving Sainz several years of security as long as he performs alongside Alex Albon.

Talking about how negotiations potentially played out between Sainz and the teams in the paddock, Barretto said: “I think a multi-year deal was probably the most important thing out of everything to do it because he’s really excelled in his career when he’s had that stability.

“That’s what he’s really needed to get the best out of him.”

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

Eddie Jordan thinks Carlos Sainz will have a key exit clause in his new Williams contract

While a multi-year deal provides security for Sainz, it may not be the most ambitious move.

Sainz will be 30 before he begins the next stage of his career with Williams and despite Vowles’s ambitions, the earliest they could be challenging at the front of the pack is 2026.

That would rely on Mercedes having a far superior power unit to the rest of the grid and Williams themselves to take big steps forward behind the scenes.

Eddie Jordan has suggested that Carlos Sainz’s father would have insisted on a release clause in his contract so that if a top team need a driver, Sainz can fill that role.

It goes against what Vowles had planned for his line-up going forward but may have been necessary to secure his signature.

It’s hard to see the 2025 driver market being as active as this year’s but if there is a seat available at a top team, Sainz will still be one of the most likely candidates to fill it.