Flavio Briatore’s Carlos Sainz push comes to light with Mercedes incentive dangled

Flavio Briatore and Carlos Sainz

Flavio Briatore did “everything he could” to bring Carlos Sainz to Alpine, including presenting a possible Mercedes engine deal.

That is the claim of leading Formula 1 correspondent Lawrence Barretto, with the Sainz saga over now that he has chosen his home on the grid for F1 2025 and beyond.

Alpine pursued Carlos Sainz deal ‘very hard’

But it is not Alpine where Sainz will be heading once Lewis Hamilton replaces him at Ferrari from F1 2025, instead, Sainz has agreed a multi-year deal with Williams which takes him to the end of 2026, with options to extend.

Sainz had been linked with just about every team on the grid at some point, but Alpine apparently were a team, like Williams and Sauber (to become Audi), that worked hard to strike a deal, with Barretto claiming that Briatore, executive advisor to Renault CEO Luca de Meo – parent company of the Alpine team – played a major role in the effort.

That included attempting to lure Sainz back to Enstone with the potential incentive of a Mercedes engine deal. Williams uses the Mercedes PU and Alpine could follow for the new regulatory era in 2026 by morphing from factory to customer team, Renault’s withdrawal as a Formula 1 power unit manufacturer a strong possibility.

‘Alpine chased Sainz very hard, with new executive director Flavio Briatore upping the ante after joining and doing everything he could to tempt the Spaniard back to Enstone, including waving the carrot of a potential Mercedes engine deal,’ Barretto wrote for the Formula 1 website.

‘But they have struggled for form this year, while also going through more than a year of upheaval that has seen nearly ever single senior member of staff leave the team. The most recent change came just this weekend, with news Bruno Famin would leave his role as team principal and focus on non-F1-related activities going forward.’

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Explaining his decision to join Williams, Sainz said the “ultimate goal” is to return the team to the front of the grid, having last tasted title success in 1997. He believes all the “ingredients” are there for such a resurgence.

“I am very happy to announce that I will be joining Williams Racing from 2025 onwards,” said Sainz.

“It is no secret that this year’s driver market has been exceptionally complex for various reasons and that it has taken me some time to announce my decision.

“However, I am fully confident that Williams is the right place for me to continue my F1 journey and I am extremely proud of joining such a historic and successful team, where many of my childhood heroes drove in the past and made their mark on our sport.

“The ultimate goal of bringing Williams back to where it belongs, at the front of the grid, is a challenge that I embrace with excitement and positivity.

“I am convinced that this team has all the right ingredients to make history again and starting on January 1 I will give my absolute best to drive Williams forward alongside every single member of the team.

“I want to thank James Vowles [team principal] and the entire Board of Williams for their trust and determination.

“Their solid leadership and convictions have played an important role in my decision-making. I truly believe that the core of every successful team lies amongst their people and their culture.

“Williams is synonymous with heritage and pure racing, the foundations of the project that lies ahead of us are very strong and I am really looking forward to being part of it starting next year.”

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