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Motorsport

Sport

Why adding to Williams' F1 legacy would be Sainz's "proudest moment"

Frank Williams Sainz Ferrari Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz Sr McLaren F1 James Vowles Alex Albon Alain Prost Lewis Hamilton

History is not lost on Carlos Sainz as he becomes the fourth driver in Formula 1 to race for the Big Three of Ferrari, McLaren and now Williams.

Sainz has become something of what pejoratively would be described as a journeyman, a very good driver below the absolute superstar level who has frequently moved teams in order to find a permanent home to deploy his talents, which in his case is not only his speed but also his technical nous and collaborative mentality which has made him an extremely valued member at any of his previous outfits.

Coming off the Red Bull conveyor belt in one of its most productive eras, Sainz opted to leave its satellite team Toro Rosso for two years at Renault, before landing a McLaren drive in 2019. Two years later the possibility of a dream Ferrari seat was impossible to turn down, and his four-year stint at the Scuderia was not only his longest for a single team but also his most successful, bagging four grand prix wins.

But Sainz's Ferrari dream came to a premature end as the Italian powerhouse grabbed the opportunity to dislodge Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, forming a mouthwatering partnership of F1's most iconic team with its most famous and successful driver.

The news was a blow to Sainz, who was then presented with a range of much less desirable midfield outfits to pick from. But he has since turned the page, finished his Ferrari stint with dignity and accepted his new challenge at Williams, the once great team that is facing a huge rebuild under investor Dorilton Capital and led by team principal James Vowles.

"The only thing I can tell you is I'm very happy, I'm very motivated, I'm excited, I feel supported," Sainz said after taking his new car for 2025, the Williams FW47, on a first date around Silverstone at the team's ambitious Valentine's Day launch.

Carlos Sainz, Williams FW47 (Photo by: Williams)

As anyone reading this can attest to, there's nothing like feeling valued by your employer in any professional walk of life. And Vowles was absolutely desperate to bring in someone of Sainz's calibre for his racing pedigree, intimate knowledge of Ferrari's race-winning methods and his cooperative personality that is bound to gel well with Alex Albon.

"I have a team principal and a team that fully trusts in my abilities and that want to listen to what I say, and I have confidence in my abilities to help the team to move forward. I like Alex as a team-mate in how we can both push this team forward, so the whole project just motivates me a lot, and I'm just looking forward.

"How much I will miss winning or how jealous I will be of people that are fighting for positions that I used to be fighting for? I cannot say that yet, but I can tell you that I'm proud and happy to be part of a team like Williams and to join a project that the team has trusted me to help them in that recovery process."

Make no mistake about it. If Lewis Hamilton hadn't felt the urge to leave Mercedes for a final opportunity to race in red and make a fresh start at Ferrari, and the Scuderia had presented Sainz with a long-term contract extension, he would have signed it in a heartbeat.

But even if going to Williams wasn't his first choice, and Sainz admitted he is curious to find out how he will cope going from fighting for podiums and wins to fighting for a point, there's an appeal to the once successful team that stretches beyond its current capacities.

Alain Prost, Williams FW15C Renault, 1st position followed by Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP4/8 Ford (Photo by: Motorsport Images)

For newer F1 followers - hello and welcome - it might be harder to imagine, but long before Red Bull and Mercedes showed up, Williams, Ferrari and McLaren were the sport's undisputed Big Three, leaving mere breadcrumbs for the competition. Between 1974 and 2004 only two other outfits managed to win the world constructors' title, Lotus in 1978 with Mario Andretti and the late Ronnie Peterson, and the 1995 Benetton team of Michael Schumacher and Johnny Herbert. Williams' haul of nine titles was only recently matched by McLaren last year, joint second behind Ferrari's towering tally of 16.

Entire generations of fans therefore grew up with Williams, Ferrari and McLaren ruling the roost. So did Sainz, who was glued to the TV screen as a child in Madrid when Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya took the fight to Ferrari's Michael Schumacher and McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, in what would prove to be Williams' most recent stint as a regular front-running team, with a fondness for F1 history undoubtedly passed on by his father, rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr.

Little did Carlos Junior know that he would end up racing for all three, a feat only three drivers managed before him: Jacky Ickx, Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost.

Not the worst company to be in, even if Williams' circumstances are vastly different today than they were when Mansell and Prost muscled Williams' Renault-powered cars to back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993, just before Sainz was born.

Nevertheless, while signing for Williams is a massive step backwards for now, there is a historic dimension to completing the set of F1's legacy Big Three teams he will now have driven for that is not lost on the 30-year-old.

When asked by Motorsport.com about the prospect of becoming the fourth driver to do so, he grinned: "I think if you would have asked me when I was 10 years old and I started to fall in love with Formula 1, which teams I would have loved to drive for one day, I would have definitely picked those three.

"I'm in my 10th year in Formula 1, and I'm joining Williams at a very important moment for Williams, where it's going through some key changes in its history. Nothing would make me happier and more proud, and it would definitely be the proudest moment of my career, if one day I can be on a podium with this team.

"I want to help in that process of a historic team. It's the second most successful team in Formula 1 and being part of that process back to the top of Formula 1 is what motivates me. I think you guys can tell I'm happy. I feel supported by this team, and I think that's hopefully going to bring out the best version of myself."

Sainz is not alone in his affinity for the history of the sport and Williams itself. Team boss Vowles says he's acutely aware of the responsibility of being a custodian of the Williams brand and the legacy left by Sir Frank Williams, the team's iconic founder and force of nature who passed away in 2021.

"We absolutely have a responsibility towards the late Sir Frank," Vowles said. "I joined this team because it was the benchmark in the sport that redefines certain elements for me and brought me into the sport. And that's why I'm here heading up Williams today. It means something to me, something very deep and personal.

"My goal is simply to bring this back to a championship level and along the pathway, I want to make sure we do good to Sir Frank, his name and his legacy."

There is plenty of evidence to suggest Williams is at least on the way up, but only time will tell if it goes all the way to the top again. But however far it may go, alongside early adopter Albon it now has another key figure in Sainz who will leave no stone unturned to get there.

The tenacious and intelligent Spaniard is just the type of driver Sir Frank would have liked.