Williams breaks silence on potential exit clause offer for Carlos Sainz to join Red Bull or Mercedes

Carlos Sainz is the hottest property in the driver market.

Williams breaks silence on potential exit clause offer for Carlos Sainz to join Red Bull or Mercedes

Carlos Sainz and James Vowles (via IMAGO)

Carlos Sainz began the season knowing he would not be driving for Ferrari next year. On the other hand, with top seats filling out at a rapid pace, the Spaniard has been left with a painful choice of choosing one of the backmarker teams. However, it was reported that Williams was ready to offer the 29-year-old a potential contract with exit clauses if a seat at Mercedes or Red Bull becomes available. This rumor was dismissed by James Vowles, who made it clear that such alternatives would not be possible.

Lewis Hamilton announced his move to Ferrari before the commencement of the 2024 campaign. While it left Carlos Sainz without a seat, it was expected that this announcement would give him ample time to decide his future. However, the former race winner became a cork in the silly season madness as wished for a seat at Red Bull or Mercedes, but they were not ready to sign him.

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On the contrary, it was reported that Williams agreed to an exit clause where a seat at the top becomes available which would solve Sainz’s problems.

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No, there was only a handful of people in the world that know what we're talking about. That's not even within the team as well. And it's definitely not journalists that are outside this motorhome.
James Vowles said in an interview with Autosport

However, Williams’ team principal James Vowles was unhappy with such rumors. He claimed that he would not give any leeway for the potential incumbent driver. Furthermore, he lamented the speculations as he asserted them to be misleading and reckoned them to be nowhere near the actual negotiations.

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What does Carlos Sainz’s move mean for the rest of the grid?

If Sainz moves to Williams, a lot of teams will soon try to acquire other free agents. However, this leaves Logan Sargeant as the current Williams driver has been on a rough patch of performance and the Grove-based team is his best hope to continue in the championship.

Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz (via IMAGO)

The Brit revealed that he is not being pressured by other teams and wants to give the American the chance to develop.

Toto [Wolff] isn’t pushing [Antonelli] towards me, and I’d much rather give Logan every opportunity to succeed and be an ongoing professional racing driver. When we make this car faster, and we will make it faster, we have a responsibility to finish as high up in this championship as we can and if he delivers, brilliant, if he doesn’t we have a decision to make.
James Vowles said in an interview as quoted by F1

Vowles revealed that Mercedes is not being adamant about promoting their junior driver into F1. So, he wants to give Sargeant another chance to showcase his skills but asserted that the 23-year-old has to leave an impression on him to secure his future.

Apart from this, Alex Albon has already committed to Williams. Thus, if Sainz joins the English team, Williams would have a strong driver lineup that would be able to challenge for higher positions.

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