Is Sainz saga approaching an end? He is negotiating with this team at Spa!

F1 News

sainz negotiates with williams in belgium
27 July at 09:45
  • Ludo van Denderen

Carlos Sainz has kept Formula 1 in suspense for months: where will the current Ferrari driver continue his career? A whole raft of possibilities have now been considered: Audi (currently Sauber), Williams, Alpine and even Mercedes and Red Bull Racing have been linked with Sainz at some point. Time and again, the Spaniard says he has not yet made a decision, but did he inadvertently shed some light himself on Friday at Spa?

GPblog saw Carlos Sainz's father, Carlos Sainz Sr. and manager Carlos Onoro Sainz having a meeting at the hospitality unit of Williams. James Vowles, Williams' team principal, has never made a secret of being keen to work with Sainz and make him the successor to Logan Sargeant. In recent weeks, it seemed Sainz was not Williams' first choice and the British team already revealed they were working on alternatives (read: Valtteri Bottas).

Alpine and Audi still options for Sainz?

The conversation at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit is at least an indication that Sainz still sees Williams as an option. It is unknown whether Alpine - where Flavio Briatore would like to bring him in - and Audi are still an option for the Spaniard. At the latter team, Mattia Binotto was appointed as the new team principal last week. With the Italian, Sainz worked pleasantly with Ferrari for a long time.

Last Thursday, Sainz also revealed that he has no idea when there will be white smoke about his future. "I cannot honestly give you the answer, and I cannot answer that question. It's as simple as that. I don't know. I don't know if it's going to be before or after the summer break. I don't know," said Sainz, who also did not comment on team names.