‘A vindication’: Sainz says 2025 results justify gamble with Williams.
…a statement season with Williams – one that explains, and justifies, why the Spaniard chose Grove as his home in F1.
23/12/2025
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

Reflecting on a whirlwind season, Sainz admitted how quickly it all unfolded. “It’s gone much quicker than I thought it would!” he told F1.com. “The fact that we are on the run so much in between races, non-stop… The sport is growing massively, so you do more marketing, more travelling, more races… By the end of the year, you cannot understand how it’s all flown by.”

“But, if you told me at the beginning of the year that there was going to be fifth position for Williams at the end of the championship, a good step forward, closing the gap to the top teams, and a couple of podiums, I would have taken it. It’s been a good year overall.” And with results in hand, Sainz feels his decision has finally been validated.

“Also, when I signed with Williams in the summer of 2024, if I would have told people that I’m joining them because these results are going to happen, they wouldn’t have fully believed me. I have the results now to back why I chose this team—a vindication,” the Spaniard maintained.

‘A vindication’;

https://f1i.com/news/556677-a-vindic...-williams.html


The Sainz Effect: Red Bull’s Missed Masterstroke?
December 22, 2025
Alex Albuquerque
FastestLap.com

Jacques Villeneuve certainly thinks so. The 1997 World Champion has been banging the drum all season: Sainz has a habit of lifting every team he steps into. And if there’s one thing Red Bull’s Verstappen-era juggernaut has intermittently lacked, it’s a true second spear to press both Max and the car. The history is well-trodden. Sainz and Verstappen came up together at Toro Rosso, and the atmosphere — drivers and fathers included — got tense enough that Red Bull’s then-powerbroker Helmut Marko kept the pair apart when the big seat opened. When Ferrari cut Sainz loose in favour of Lewis Hamilton, Red Bull again looked elsewhere.

Marko, never one to varnish, later called the Toro Rosso dynamic “toxic” and argued the choice at the time was obvious. Sainz didn’t share the view. He’s said repeatedly the rivalry was hard but healthy, and that today he and Max get along: if anything, he reckons they’d form the nastiest one-two punch on the grid. The irony? Sainz has spent 2025 proving his point. Williams jumped from ninth last year to a robust fifth in the Constructors’ standings, with Sainz banking two podiums — including a P3 in Baku, Williams’ first full-race podium since 2017. That’s not just a step forward; that’s a renovation.

‘Sainz has a habit of lifting every team he steps into’;

https://fastestlap.com/news/the-sain...-masterstroke/


How Carlos Sainz has elevated Alex Albon’s level at Williams
20 Dec 2025
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week

Alex Albon has explained how the arrival of Carlos Sainz at Williams has helped transform the team and elevated his own Formula 1 performances. “I think the biggest thing I’ve learned from Carlos is more the non-driving side of things, the way that we conduct meetings and develop the car in the simulator and go about our free practice programmes,” said Albon. “Things like that which you can see the experience with Carlos in that way.”

“I could definitely say I had the majority of the preferential treatment in previous years,” he explained. “In terms of us two working together more backwards and forwards – we call it ‘feedback ping-pong’, where we’re just kind of having the same opinions about the car. We speak in a very similar language. Carlos is more experienced than I am, but in terms of our age and our approach, we handle things in a very similar way.”

“In terms of pushing me, it’s great to have someone with a different dataset to have a look at, different driving style to me. We want similar things in the car, we actually normally arrive to qualifying with a very similar set-up. When you have a team-mate who’s a step up, you learn more. There’s more to learn in terms of your driving style. There’s some corners that you were previously quick at, which you’re now the same as [your team-mate]. And there are some corners that you need to learn, adapt, drive differently.”

“Transform the team and elevated his own Formula 1 performances”;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...l-at-williams/


Sainz pens heartfelt end-of-season letter to Williams staff
19/12/2025
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

Carlos Sainz didn’t just walk away from his first season at Williams with results on the board — he left behind something far more personal. Rather than letting those achievements speak for themselves, Sainz chose to address the people behind the scenes directly.

“As we close out a remarkable first season together, I want to express my sincere gratitude to each and every one of you for the incredible welcome I have received since day one at Grove,” the four-time Grand Prix winner wrote to his fellow team members. I knew I was joining a very special team, but our first year together has exceeded all my expectations. This specially designed print is a small gesture of appreciation, and I hope it serves as a reminder of what we accomplished together during 2025.”

“It is thanks to your dedication and commitment that we have been able to achieve our most ambitious goal this year: securing P5 in the constructors' championship, while also having a bit of fun along the way with the podiums in Baku and Qatar, and the sprint podium in Austin. Those highlights are not mine they are a direct result of your efforts and our teamwork, and I truly hope you feel as proud as I do of every point we have scored.”

“Sincere gratitude to each and every one of you”;

https://f1i.com/news/556545-sainz-pe...ams-staff.html


The Sainz effect that would make him the perfect Verstappen teammate
22 Dec 2025
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com

Passed over by Red Bull because of yesteryear’s rivalry with Max Verstappen, Red Bull may have missed a trick as Jacques Villeneuve believes Carlos Sainz makes every team that he joins “better every time”. Quizzed on why Sainz is already to do that, Villeneuve replied: “He’s working on the car. That’s all. He actually understands what the car is doing, and he’s thinking about it, like Max, he’s always thinking about racing and about the car.”

“He knows what he needs. And it’s not a question of, there’s understeer, there’s oversteer. No, that’s useless. That is completely useless. There are times when you have to adapt your driving to understand what the problem with the car is, so you can fix it, so you can go back to your normal driving style and so on.” The 1997 World Champion reckons Sainz and Verstappen share characteristics that make set them apart from other racers.

“Most drivers get out of the car, look at the data, and then they have the answers, but they don’t actually have the question,” he revealed. “So the answer is to give them the questions, and oftentimes you’ll see them going in a completely wrong direction. But that’s the modern way of racing. Max is very old-fashioned in that, and I think Carlos is as well. He’ll use the data a lot, but he actually has a comprehension of what is happening to the car as he’s driving,” he added.

“He knows what he needs”;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/the-ca...-bull-teammate


Sainz tipped as Alonso’s successor in potential Aston Martin move
18 Dec 2025
Samson Ero
GPblog.com

Guenther Steiner has tipped Carlos Sainz for a potential move to Aston Martin following an impressive debut season with Williams. “…Aston Martin presents Sainz’s best opportunities moving forward.” - Guenther Steiner.

“Some teams are keeping an eye on him now, even if they won’t admit it. It’s as if they questioned whether they wanted Carlos in a championship fight. Sometimes these decisions are made, and you can’t go back,” Steiner said via the Red Flag podcast. The former Haas F1 team boss, however, admitted that a move back to the current frontrunning outfit would be a tall order considering his age.

“I think it will be very difficult to move up unless you’re a rookie. There are opportunities out there. A return to Ferrari seems highly unlikely, as does a switch to Red Bull or Mercedes. But there’s always a chance with one of the other teams that are showing great promise,” he added. “I would say Williams or Aston Martin present Sainz’s best opportunities moving forward. Honestly, I don’t believe Fernando can race for another five years. He will likely have one more year, maybe two at best.”

‘Sainz tipped as Alonso’s successor’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/sainz...on-martin-move