F1 Insider Questions Carlos Sainz's Williams Contract Rumors - 'Big Mistake'

Carlos Sainz signs a two-year deal with Williams amidst rumors of an exit clause allowing him to leave for Red Bull or Mercedes.

Jun 7, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Ferrari driver driver Carlos Sainz (ESP) in the pit lane during the practice session at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Carlos Sainz has inked a two-year deal with Williams, set to start with the 2025 F1 season. The announcement, confirmed earlier this week by Williams, followed a huge amount of speculation and sightings of both Sainz's father and his manager at the team's hospitality during the Belgian Grand Prix. However, although the announcement was only made this week, rumors have started to surface of an exit clause in the Spanish driver's contract which F1 insider and broadcaster Peter Windsor has analysed.

The move from Ferrari to Williams is rumored to come with intriguing contractual nuances, notably a speculated clause that allows Sainz the flexibility to depart Williams should a seat become available at either Red Bull or Mercedes. Speaking out on the rumors, Williams team chief James Vowles commented, as quoted by Planet F1:

“There are precisely 10 people in the world that know what the interior of the contract holds. The Carlos camp know and I know what’s inside. So anything you have read on the internet is speculation and that is it.

“The message ’25, ’26 and beyond’ [in Williams’ official announcement] 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.”

However, Peter Windsor, a seasoned F1 commentator, criticized the strategic foresight of the contract. Windsor noted a potential oversight in not including Ferrari as an option in the exit clause, particularly given Sainz's successful history with the team, which includes three F1 victories since he replaced Sebastian Vettel in 2021. During an appearance on the Cameron F1 YouTube channel, Windsor explained:

“Big mistake, if that’s the actual wording [of the clause], because why hasn’t he got Ferrari in there?

“Imagine if Lewis stops after one year for whatever reason and a Ferrari seat’s available.

“Imagine if Carlos Sainz has just re-signed for Williams because he’s just finished second in the Hungarian Grand Prix, and he loves the team, and then a week later there’s a seat at Ferrari available and Ferrari are on the phone saying: ‘Carlos, come back! We love you, come back!’

“What happens then?

“Why hasn’t he got Ferrari in there? Why is he only thinking Red Bull and Mercedes?

“Or is he so annoyed with Ferrari that he’d never want to drive for them instead?”

Windsor also speculated on the chances of a Ferrari comeback being higher than securing a spot at Mercedes, considering the current lineup and future prospects at Mercedes with George Russell and rising star Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

“You can’t assume anything.

“Charles Leclerc may not be there for the next two years – why would you assume that?

“There’s more chance at Ferrari, bearing in mind Lewis’s age and everything else, than there is at Mercedes where it looks like it’s going to be George and Antonelli.

“Those two are going to be in the car for the next five years. So no chance at Mercedes, you’d say.

“There’s more chance that he’s going to get an opportunity again at Ferrari, especially if he kept that door open with that contract and said: ‘I love you, guys. The minute you want me back, I’ll be with you.’

“Why wouldn’t he have done that? I find that very odd.”