Remarkable: Had Sainz cancelled Williams, this driver thinks he was picked!
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
The Williams team is delighted to have secured Carlos Sainz for 2025 and beyond. With Alex Albon alongside the Spaniard, the British team believes it has one of the strongest line-ups on the F1 grid. That Sainz chose Williams at all was by no means a foregone conclusion. Audi and reportedly Alpine were also angling for the triple GP winner's signature. If Sainz had chosen one of those teams, what then?
It is no secret that Valtteri Bottas was also in talks with team boss James Vowles about a possible contract at the former top team. Should Sainz not have come to Williams, it seemed obvious that the Finn would make a comeback at Vowles' squad. But perhaps there was another driver who had a good chance.
Was Colapinto also in talks with Williams?
Williams has Franco Colapinto under contract in the training programme. The Argentine is impressing in Formula 2 this season. As a reward for his good performance in that championship, he was allowed to complete FP1 at Silverstone earlier this season on behalf of Williams. Colapinto believes he was the candidate after Sainz to take a seat next season alongside Albon.
"I felt close. I think I was second [choice] behind Carlos and of course I understand very well why they are going for Carlos. I have no problem with that. I'm very happy for the team that a driver with a lot of experience and talent from a team like Ferrari is going there," Colapinto said in an interview with Argentine television channel DSports.
This article has been written in collaboration with Matt Gretton