Carlos Sainz ‘signs’ F1 2025 contract with announcement imminent – report

Carlos Sainz has made the call to join Williams, not Audi, in 2025

Carlos Sainz has signed a contract for the F1 2025 season, it has been claimed, with an announcement potentially set to arrive as soon as this month’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Sainz had been left without a seat for next season after Ferrari announced the signing of seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton on a multi-year deal for F1 2025.

Carlos Sainz reportedly makes F1 2025 decision

Additional reporting by Pablo Hidalgo

The Spaniard’s best-ever start to a season – culminating in his victory at the Australian Grand Prix – had raised speculation that he could attract interest from the likes of Mercedes and Red Bull, but Sainz has seen those opportunities gradually fade over recent weeks.

PlanetF1.com reported ahead of last month’s Monaco Grand Prix that Sainz was no longer in contention to replace Hamilton at Mercedes, with the team instead opting to keep tabs on Max Verstappen’s situation at Red Bull.

Earlier this week, meanwhile, Red Bull confirmed that Sergio Perez had signed a new two-year contract with the reigning Constructors’ Champions, ending speculation over the Mexican driver’s future.

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It is widely believed that Sainz’s options are now between Mercedes customers Williams and the existing Sauber team, who will become Audi when the German manufacturer arrives on the grid in F1 2026.

And a report by Spanish publication The Objective has claimed that Sainz has now signed a contract for next season, with the document verified by a law firm in the driver’s home city of Madrid.

While the 29-year-old’s exact destination remains unknown, the report claims “everything suggests” Sainz’s future will be with Williams, with an announcement expected prior to the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on June 23.

PlanetF1.com has been unable to independently verify these claims prior to publication.

Sainz had been widely tipped to join Audi following the news of his Ferrari departure, with long-serving Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko revealing ahead of this season’s Chinese Grand Prix that the 29-year-old had received a “very lucrative” offer of a three-year contract from the German manufacturer.

With Sauber the only team yet to score a point in F1 2024 however, and concerns over how long it would require Audi to build a winning outfit, Sainz has been keen to explore alternative options on the market.

Reports from Germany last week claimed Williams had emerged as an attractive option for Sainz, with a possible one-year deal – including an option on his side for a further year – potentially allowing him the freedom to test the market ahead of the major regulation changes in F1 2026.

Williams could yet prove an appealing long-term option for F1’s new era, with engine partners Mercedes’ preparations for the F1 2026 rule changes – featuring sweeping alterations to both the chassis and engine – said to be well advanced.

The Grove-based outfit enjoyed a short-term boost when F1’s V6 hybrid engines came into effect in 2014, claiming third place in the Constructors’ standings with nine podium finishes, having registered just five points in total in the final season of the V8 era in 2013.

At last month’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Williams team principal James Vowles revealed he was aiming to finalise their F1 2025 driver lineup within weeks – and teased a potential statement signing to reflect where the team now stand 18 months into his tenure.

He told Sky F1: “How do we create the right foundations going forward on things?

“In a few weeks, when we’re signing, it will be me ready to say to the world: ‘This is where we are.’”

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com at the last race in Monaco, Sainz vowed that a deal will be reached “very quickly” as soon as he comes to a decision on his future.

He said: “I haven’t made my mind up yet and I don’t know I’m going to be racing next year. I also haven’t set any deadlines.

“I can establish that such it’s an important decision at this stage of my career that when I have options on the table I want to take the right one and think about it carefully because I’m about to turn 30 this year and I want to make the next project work and see how it goes.

“I can just tell you that once I’ve made my mind up, it will happen very quickly.

“It’s about putting everything together that I feel like I need in my next [adventure].”

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