Why Carlos Sainz eventually decided against joining Sauber / Audi in 2025

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After several months of deliberations, Carlos Sainz has finally decided on where he will drive for the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Carlos Sainz became a free agent when Ferrari announced they would replace him with seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton before the start of the season.

This prompted a lot of speculation over what the next move would be for the Spaniard since he was seen as one of the best drivers currently in the busy F1 driver market.

Sainz had already been in contact with Williams team principal James Vowles as early as last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but it was not a foregone conclusion that he would join the team. Vowles spoke of the ’emotional swings’ he went through to sign Sainz, given his demand.

It was initially expected that Sainz would move to Audi and was reportedly given a lucrative offer, but according to journalist Erik Van Haren on the F1 Nation podcast, there was a key reason why he did not join the German manufacturer’s F1 programme.

Why Carlos Sainz rejected Audi

Audi will take over the Sauber team in 2026 when it enters F1 as a full manufacturer of chassis and power units, however, there are questions about whether this will be a competitive combination out of the box.

Part of the reason why the 2026 power unit regulations exist is because they were designed to entice car manufacturers to spend money on an F1 engine programme, but Honda’s arrival in 2015 showed that it is still tough to win.

Van Haren believes this will have been a factor in Sainz’s decision-making, given Sauber has yet to score any points so far this season.

“There were too many questions for him on how competitive Audi will be in 26. It’s very difficult, if you start over again with a new engine, to be competitive from minute one. That’s a big question,” said Van Haren.

“I can imagine as well that at some point he wanted to make a decision because we have been speaking about Carlos’ future since February.”

Has Carlos Sainz made the right decision?

It is tough to know whether a move to Williams will reap the rewards that the team has ambitions for in the future, but out of the options on the table, it was the most competitive one for Sainz.

While it is the first time in his career that he has made a move that puts him in an inferior car to the one he is racing with at Ferrari, Sainz felt it was necessary when he ruled out any chance of a sabbatical.

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

Alpine reportedly came up with a late offer for Sainz, but their on-track form and background politics made it a less lucrative offer.

As part of his £8.5 million-a-year deal with Williams, Sainz also reportedly has a clause in his contract that enables him to leave Williams if he is offered a seat at either Mercedes or Red Bull.