Carlos Sainz will remain with Williams in Formula 1 after signing a new multi-year contract with the team.

The 31-year-old joined Williams in 2025 after a stint at Ferrari, and scored two podium finishes last year. A dip in the team’s on-track performance this season led to some question marks over Sainz’s future with the team — he has scored just six points so far with a best finish of ninth place.

Any doubts about Sainz’ future have now been removed with the announcement of this new deal on Wednesday.

The team said in a statement that Sainz had agreed a new multi-year contract which it called a “a show of faith in Williams’ long-term project to compete at the front
contract of the F1 grid”. It did not disclose how long the deal will run for.

The news follows Tuesday’s announcement that Sainz’ teammate, Alex Albon, had extended his contract into 2027, ensuring Williams will run an unchanged line-up in F1 next year.

“I’m thrilled to announce my continued journey with the Williams F1 Team family,” Sainz said in a statement. “I truly believe in the people that form this team, both at the factory and at the racetracks, and the investments and hard work that are happening in the background.

“We have what it takes to turn this around together. I’m as committed as I was on day one to helping get Williams back to where it belongs, and I look forward to creating more memories with the team.”

Analysis

Analysis by Madeline Coleman

Getting Sainz and Albon to sign contract extensions, at the very least for next season, is the best-case scenario for Williams.

The 2026 campaign has been a difficult year for the team, ranging from production delays and a missed first test to an overweight car and quite a dip in on-track performance. And with trying times, after so much effort and time were dedicated toward the 2026 car, questions arise.

It didn’t come as a total surprise that Albon is remaining with Williams. He’s been a constant for the team since it gave him a second chance in F1 back in 2022. He previously told The Athletic, “I live and breathe the team. I want this to go well. I poured a lot of my time and energy into this team, and I hope it’s for something.” But that doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee he’ll stay forever.

With Sainz, it seemed that there were more question marks as Williams has failed to even come close to its 2025 performance. The Spaniard went as far as to say Hungary, the last race before the summer break, was “a bit of an eye-opener” with seeing the gap between them and the top teams. He went from winning races with Ferrari two seasons ago to now entering the second half of the 2026 season with six points to his name.

Albon and Sainz have both signed extensions (Peter Fox via Getty Images)

Matters may not be perfect right now, but Sainz does appear to see something worth continuing to invest in. When he found his groove at Williams, he thrived last season. You can’t forget the two podium finishes near the end of the campaign.

As Albon said in the news release about his extension on Tuesday, “One tough year doesn’t tell the full picture.” Securing Albon and Sainz means Williams has two race winners with immense F1 experience helping guide its development journey into the second year of this regulation set. They have a combined 370-plus race starts, over 1,600 points and 31 podiums.

It’ll take a while for Williams to overcome years of underinvestment and grow from both a car development and infrastructure standpoint. But having one of the more experienced driver line-ups on the grid for another season (at least) gives Williams a fighting chance at righting the wrongs of this season.

And it comes at a critical time — Williams will celebrate 50 years of competing in F1 next year.

Newcastle United have announced extensive plans to pay tribute to Kevin Keegan ahead of their Premier League opener against Liverpool on Sunday.

Keegan, the former Newcastle and Liverpool great, died aged 75 on July 20, after disclosing earlier in the year that he had stage-four cancer.

Newcastle initially set up a memorial outside St James’ Park, which led to thousands of tributes being laid in memory of the two-time Ballon d’Or winner, who managed the club twice and also played for them.

Keegan spent six years at Anfield during the 1970s, helping the club win three First Division titles, before joining Hamburg in Germany.

On Sunday, both Newcastle and Liverpool’s players will wear their usual training shirts for the warm up, but they will have ‘Keegan 7’ printed on the back as a mark of respect.

Many of the shirts that were laid outside of St James’ Park have been made into a mosaic that will be laid in the centre-circle before the match gets underway to honour the former England manager.

The club has also invited Jean Keegan, Kevin’s wife, and his family to the match — along with a number of his former players including Alan Shearer, Faustino Asprilla, David Ginola, Les Ferdinand, and other squad members from his spells in charge.

There will be a minute’s applause from both sets of players before kick-off on Sunday, while Keegan is going to be on the front cover of the matchday programme.

In a private ceremony, delegates from Newcastle United and Liverpool are expected to lay wreaths in a memorial garden. This would include Shola Ameobi and Bob Moncur on behalf of the Tyneside club.

Wor Flags — a supporter-led group that creates memorable visual displays through the use of flags, banners and tiffs — will also be paying tribute to Keegan with a takeover on Sunday.

Tributes have been paid outside St James’ Park to Keegan. (Newcastle United FC)

For the memorial outside the stadium, which was visited by thousands of supporters wishing to pay tribute to Keegan, the club worked closely with its Fan Advisory Board and the Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust.

As well as being visited by fans, many former players also made the trip to the memorial, including Shearer, Peter Beardsley and Lee Clark.

Alongside the memorial, the club had books of condolences outside for fans to sign, as well as a digital version for the supporters unable to make it to St James’ Park.

Some of the memorabilia laid at the memorial will now be given to Keegan’s family, while the club will keep some back for future tributes.

The flowers that were laid outside the stadium were turned into compost and spread across the club’s pitches.

Newcastle have asked supporters attending Sunday’s match, which kicks off at 4.30pm BST (11.30am ET), to arrive earlier than usual to ensure they can see the many planned tributes.