Carlos Sainz signs new multi-year Williams F1 contract: ‘I’m thrilled’

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.