Carlos Sainz has expressed that he’s drawn his “own conclusions” about the reason for Mercedes and Red Bull rejecting the chance to sign him in Formula 1 for 2025.
The driver market descended into chaos prior to the previous season even beginning once it was announced that Lewis Hamilton had agreed a deal to head to Ferrari.
Hamilton’s decision to depart Mercedes to partner the incumbent Charles Leclerc at Ferrari ensured that Sainz’s contract with the Italian marque wouldn’t be renewed.
That instigated a long-running saga centred on Sainz’s next destination as multiple lower-end sides aimed to capitalise on a multiple-time race winner being available.
Alpine, Sauber/Audi and Williams were all made to be patient, though, as the Spaniard waited to see whether an opening with Mercedes or Red Bull would materialise.
However, Mercedes invested in teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli as Hamilton’s replacement, while Red Bull took the doomed call to issue renewed faith in Sergio Perez.
Sainz, who proceeded to pen a multi-term contract with Williams, was reticent when quizzed on his thoughts behind two front-running teams overlooking his services.
“I’ve come to my own conclusions. But I’ll keep them to myself,” Sainz told Motorsport.com.
“I believe the people in F1 know perfectly well why certain choices are made – I don’t need to explain it in front of a microphone.
Elaborating, Sainz added: “I took my time until the summer to check if there was an opportunity with a top team and to assess what the best alternative would be.
“I didn’t want to make the wrong choice – I evaluated everything very carefully.”
Sainz ‘more convinced’ than ever in Williams
Sainz explained his attention switched to considering the long-term prospects among his options once it became clear that remaining at a leading team wasn’t viable.
With Williams having since logged more points in nine races than across the past three seasons combined, Sainz harbours no doubts that he made the right decision.
“So I told myself: if I can’t join a top team, I’ll help build one,” the ex-McLaren and Ferrari driver continued. “At Williams, I saw the potential to start a great story.
“I spoke at length with James [Vowles, Team Principal] about the project he had in mind and I decided to bet on Williams because it seemed like the best opportunity to build a top team.
“Six months into this journey, I can say I’m even more convinced than when I signed. We’re all working 100 per cent to achieve this goal.”
READ MORE – Why Carlos Sainz is ‘not caring so much’ about points picture in F1 2025
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