Carlos Sainz's three-word reply on why he didn't sign his Williams contract after the 2024 F1 Spanish GP

Carlos Sainz nearly ditched Williams Racing for Alpine last year, as revealed in the latest season of the Netflix series 'Drive to Survive.' In episode four, Sainz didn't show up to a meeting with James Vowles because he got an offer from Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore.

Sainz dominated the headlines of the highly volatile drivers market last year after Ferrari dropped him from the lineup to sign seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The Spanish driver was linked to many teams, including Sauber, Williams, Mercedes, and Alpine.

However, his negotiations with Williams had reached an advanced stage, and the team was set to announce Sainz's signing during the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix.

As revealed in Netflix series 'Drive to Survive,' episode four of season seven, team principal James Vowles was ready with the contract paper at a hotel room, but the Spanish driver didn't show up.

When Netflix producer quizzed him about what led to him changing his mind about signing with Williams, Sainz answered:

"Flavio [Briatore] called me."

Flavio Briatore returned as Alpine's executive advisor and approached Carlos Sainz with an offer, which prompted the Spaniard to push his signing with Williams by two more weeks.

He added:

"Alpine started to become more appealing since Flavio Briatore arrived to the team. He’s being extremely convincing or extremely insistent in me trying to join the project."

However, when Williams boss James Vowles caught wind of it, he dialed up Sainz's manager and asked him about the details of Alpine's offer. He also reassured that Carlos is the only drive Williams is targeting and won't settle for anything less.

Eventually, things worked out in Williams favor, as two weeks after the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix, Sainz showed up to another meeting in a hotel room and signed contract papers in the presence of his manager and team principal, James Vowles.

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Carlos Sainz inquired about Mercedes' opportunity through Lewis Hamilton

Carlos Sainz [L] Lewis Hamilton [R] (Image Source: Getty)

Another interesting conversation between Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton was captured by Netflix during the 2024 F1 season. According to Planet F1, the Spaniard discussed the possibility of signing with Mercedes with the seven-time world champion.

After Hamilton replaced Sainz at Ferrari, his Mercedes seat was vacant, which offered the Spanish driver an opportunity to orchestrate a swap. However, Sainz wasn't convinced, as he had not been approached by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

“I haven’t talked to Toto yet. Which makes me feel like if he really had an interest, he would have already called me," Sainz told Hamilton.

Furthermore, when Carlos Sainz asked Lewis Hamilton about his opinion on Mercedes' decline, the latter rubbished the narrative of his former team seeing a serious decline.

After Mercedes signed Andra Kimi Antonelli as Hamilton's replacement, Sainz ended up signing a multi-year deal with Williams Racing.