Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has admitted that Carlos Sainz not receiving a seat with a top Formula 1 side in 2025 is “tragic” amid his impending move to Williams.
Williams brought an end to the saga that had dominated the driver market late last month with the announcement that it has won the race to acquire Sainz’s services.
Sainz was told even before the season started that his contract with Ferrari wouldn’t be renewed as the marque has signed Lewis Hamilton to partner Charles Leclerc.
But while he harboured hope that a drive with a leading team would be available, Red Bull ruled out a return and Mercedes is poised to promote Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
The Spaniard has since turned down concrete proposals from Alpine and also Sauber as it prepares to evolve into Audi to commit to Williams on a multi-year contract.
Marko believes that Sainz, who drove with Red Bull’s second-string team between 2015 and 2018, has made the correct decision in choosing Williams over the others.
“It is understandable that Carlos Sainz decided to go to Williams, because what would the alternatives be?” Marko wrote in his Speedweek column.
“Audi will certainly not be one of them next year, if you look at their successes.
“And at Alpine, we don’t know whether they will get the Mercedes engine in 2025 or not until 2026. I would say that was the best solution for him in his situation.”
Marko has expressed that it is a shame that Sainz, who has taken one win and five podiums in 2024, will be downgrading to a team that is ninth in the championship.
However, the Austrian is optimistic that the Grove-based squad will be in line to make strides down the line once all-new technical regulations are introduced in 2026.
“It is of course tragic that he is having his best season at Ferrari and is not getting a seat in a top team,” he continued.
“But things should be moving forward at Williams, he has a strong engine there too.”
Meanwhile, Marko has hinted that there could be an exit clause inside Sainz’s deal with Williams which would permit him to move again should a better seat open up.
“And apparently there is a clause in his contract that allows him to leave if an offer comes from a much better-placed team,” he concluded.
But Williams boss James Vowles has since underlined that such reports are “speculation”, citing that it was Sainz’s choice to reveal that he has signed through 2026.
“So, there are precisely 10 people in the world that know what the interior and the contract holds, 10,” Vowles told media including Motorsport Week.
“No one in this company is it, and they particularly sat around me at the moment. But Carlos, Caco [Carlos Oñoro Sainz, Sainz’s manager] and I know what’s inside that.
So, anything you’ve read on the internet is speculation, and that is it. It was the message that’s 25 and 26 and beyond did not come from myself. That came from Carlos.
“He wanted it to be abundantly clear to all of you, to the world, that he is committed and this is where he wants to be.”
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