Williams now in line to land ‘world-class’ driver for 2025 F1 season

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Williams Racing have already signed up one driver for next season and beyond after extending Alex Albon’s contract.

Unfortunately for Logan Sargeant, it appears he hasn’t made the necessary steps forward to secure another contract for 2025.

The American has only scored one point during his F1 career and while he’s not always had luck on his side this season with upgrades and parts – including his chassis in Australia – going to Alex Albon, the gap between the pair is simply too great to justify his place on the grid.

F1Oversteer now understands that Williams are in line to sign Carlos Sainz next season.

The 29-year-old – described as ‘world-class’ by Martin Brundle (Sky Sports F1 – 28/2 15:54) –was very unfortunate to lose his Ferrari seat before the season even started.

However, team principal Frederic Vasseur was never going to turn down the chance to sign seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to partner Charles Leclerc.

After interest from various teams and links to manufacturers up and down the paddock, it appears as though Sainz’s next destination is set.

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

Williams in line to sign Carlos Sainz for the 2025 F1 season

The 2024 F1 season was always going to be eventful off the track with so many contracts coming to an end.

Ferrari and McLaren moved to extend Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris’s deals months before the season even started.

They anticipated that things could change very quickly and that proved to be the case at the beginning of February.

Lewis Hamilton shocked the world of Formula 1 and announced he would be joining Ferrari a year before the end of his deal.

It sent shockwaves up and down the grid but immediately signalled the end of Carlos Sainz’s time with the team.

The Spaniard has held on to see what Red Bull would do with Sergio Perez’s deal set to end, but he’s now been handed a new agreement bringing Sainz’s hopes of a reunion with Max Verstappen to an end.

There aren’t many options left for Sainz now but F1Oversteer understands after speaking to sources close to the situation that he is in line to drive for Williams next year with the team 90% sure that a deal is going to be done.

Sainz’s camp have been impressed by Williams during talks and it would mean the 29-year-old turning down a potential move to Sauber ahead of Audi’s takeover in 2026.

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

Why would Carlos Sainz choose Williams for 2025?

Although Mercedes and Aston Martin technically still have seats open for 2025, neither team has ever been a concrete option for Sainz.

Toto Wolff had his heart set on a move for Max Verstappen although that appears to be increasingly unlikely with rookie Kimi Antonelli set to step up from Formula 2.

Aston Martin have already confirmed Fernando Alonso for next year and he’ll be joined by Lance Stroll who is on a rolling deal while his father still owns the team.

That has left Sainz looking at the bottom four teams in the Constructors’ Championship and two serious options emerged: Audi and Williams.

Audi have had a contract on the table for some time but they have now started looking at alternative drivers.

Sauber have the slowest car on the grid right now and while Audi will be a works team in 2026, they’ll almost certainly be dealing with a lot of teething issues during their debut campaign.

Williams aren’t in a much stronger position at this stage but do have things going for them.

James Vowles is an incredibly competent leader and by convincing Alex Albon to extend his contract, has shown that those close to him have a lot of faith in his project.

They will also have access to Mercedes engines and that could be a huge factor when the regulations change in 2026.

Williams will have one of the best driver line-ups on the grid and potentially the most powerful engine.

All they need now is to convince Adrian Newey that he should return to the team he once won four drivers’ championships with.