Back in 2024 when Ferrari announced that Lewis Hamilton will be partnering with Charles Leclerc from the 2025 season, Carlos Sainz Jr. had an important decision to make about his future to remain in Formula 1. While there were several teams gunning for the Spaniard, Sainz decided to go to Williams on a multi-year deal. However, as it stands, that decision does not seem to be paying off.
One of the major points Sainz would have taken into consideration while making his decision was how the teams' 2026 potential was. While Williams did have a decent 2025 season, their 2026 season has been well below expectations. The team was not even able to bring a car for pre-season testing in Barcelona. Right from the start of the year, the team has been on the backfoot. In a recent interview, Sky Sports pundit, Martin Brundle brought Carlos Sainz's decision to join Williams back into the light.
Martin Brundle thinks Carlos Sainz Jr. is keeping his options open
Recently, Martin Brundle spoke about how Williams is stuck in Williams who find themselves fighting to stay out of last place in the Constructors' Championship. With the new Aston Martin upgrades that made its debut at the Hungarian GP, Williams is at risk of the midfield leaving them behind. ↗︎Martin Brundle thinks that Sainz should have gone with Audi back in 2024.
“He decided not to go to Audi, which I believe his dad wanted him to. They’ve got a long-standing relationship there with the family with Audi.
2026 Season: Carlos Sainz vs Gabriel Bortoleto
2026 · P15
2026 · P14
“I would imagine Carlos is keeping his options open. It is frustrating. He’s stalling out at a time in his career and life that is not optimal, to say the least.”
Compared to Williams, Audi has been doing a much better job this season. Despite being an entirely new team this year, Audi has managed to be one of the top midfield teams this year. The acting team principal, Mattio Binnoto has stated that Audi is targeting to fight for Championships from the 2030 season. Williams, on the other hand, are still looking to get themselves out of the hole they've dug themselves into.
