F1 News: Williams Targets Carlos Sainz for 2025 Season Alongside Alex Albon

Could the Ferrari driver be courted by Williams?

Oct 20, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; Logan Sargeant of Williams Racing during qualifying for the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Logan is the lone United States driver currently in F1. Mandatory Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports / Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

Williams Racing is considering a significant shift in their driver lineup by potentially attempting to recruit Carlos Sainz to join Alex Albon for the 2025 season. The team is reportedly targeting the Spaniard to build an experienced driver lineup.

Williams Racing is currently courting the experienced Formula 1 driver, Carlos Sainz, to potentially replace Logan Sargeant in the 2025 lineup alongside Alex Albon. This move underscores Team Principal James Vowles's strategy to build a duo of veteran drivers.

The allure of Williams for Sainz appears linked to the projected improvement of the Mercedes power units being built for 2026 and of which will be used by the Grove team, a factor not lost on Vowles who sees the upcoming seasons as crucial for Williams's resurgence.

“We have talks with drivers, but it’s important to treat those confidentially,” Vowles told RACER. “I think Carlos is tremendous — he’s an incredible driver. He has won races where others could not, simple as that. For years — and I don’t mean months, for years — I think he has been absolutely right up there. If you go all the way back to the Toro Rosso days, he was matching Max.

“Go back to McLaren, he’s matching Lando , there is every reason to believe that he’s a tremendous force of nature, and it would be foolish of any teams not to have him on the agenda. And certainly, from our perspective, while I don’t want to confirm who we are talking to, and what we’re talking to, I could certainly say that teams would be foolish not to have him as part of your lineup.”

Enhancing his team through experienced drivers seems integral to Vowles’ philosophy, whch suggests that navigating through Williams's current transitional phase requires substantial expertise. “Where I think we are, is that having expertise in the car for the next few years alongside Alex is going to be a huge strength. Simple as that," Vowles asserted.

Despite Vowles's obvious want for the current Scuderia driver, Sargeant’s position within the team is not entirely dismissed. Vowles praised his "brilliance" at Imola.

“Imola, the race performance was strong. It was where it needs to be. The converse, though, in qualifying, I needed more from him. You’ve got to make sure that you’re within the track limits, fundamentally. But the pace was there, it was a better position from that perspective."

The broader considerations for Williams also include other experienced drivers like Valtteri Bottas and upcoming talents from Mercedes' roster such as young rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli. This strategic flexibility could position Williams as a formidable contender by the 2026 season, especially with an improved engine performance.

Looking ahead, it’s clear that the choice of driver for Williams is more than about immediate performance; it's about shaping a team capable of sustained competitiveness. Sainz, with his robust track record and adaptability, fits Vowles's vision of a team that blends "stability and individuals that know what excellence looks like." While the negotiations remain discreet, the prospect of Sainz joining Williams opens intriguing possibilities for the team's trajectory.