Carlos Sainz ‘has decided’ €10m deal for F1 2025 with special exit clause – report

Carlos Sainz has yet to lock in his 2025 F1 team

Carlos Sainz “has decided” his Formula 1 future, so the rumour goes, and will join Williams on a one-year deal, although maybe not at all as it includes a special Mercedes and Red Bull clause.

Left without a race seat for next year’s championship after being passed over in favour of seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, Sainz has been linked to just about every team up and down the grid.

Carlos Sainz ‘has’ a Williams deal that includes a special exit clause

But after six months of weighing up his options and intense negotiations, the Spaniard has finally made a decision.

That’s according to F1-Insider who claim the speculation is ‘over’, Sainz ‘has now decided’ when he will be in 2025, and his ‘choice is Williams.’

The 29-year-old, a winner of three Grands Prix, has reportedly put pen to paper on a ‘one-year contract’ worth €10 million per season that includes an option to extend.

As for what persuaded him to choose Williams instead of Alpine or Audi, that’s a special clause in the contract that means he may never race for Williams.

‘Above all,’ reads the report, ‘his contract is said to contain a clause that allows him not to start his job at Williams at all or to quit if the opportunity arises to move to Mercedes or Red Bull in 2025.’

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The publication went on to claim that could happen as there is speculation about an ‘agreement between Williams team boss James Vowles and Toto Wolff” that could see Kimi Antonelli come in at Williams if Mercedes decide they want Sainz.

Adding a bit of weight to the rumour, PlanetF1.com snapped a shot of Sainz’s team, his father Carlos Sainz Senior and his manager Carlos Onoro, leaving the Williams motorhome in Spa on Friday.

However, contrary to the report, Sainz insisted on Thursday that he had not made a decision nor would he give a timeframe for one.

Asked if F1 journalists can enjoy a relaxing summer break or if they need to keep out for surprises, the Spaniard replied: “Do you honestly think I’m going to answer that question?

“After all this time, I’m now going to tell you if I’m going to decide tomorrow or in five days or before the summer break?

“I cannot honestly give you the answer, and I cannot answer that question. It’s as simple as that. I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s going to be before or after the summer break. I don’t know.”

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