Former F2 champion emerges as Carlos Sainz’s surprise alternative for Williams Racing if the Ferrari star rejects F1 move

Recent Reports claim that former F2 champion Felipe Drugovich could take the Williams seat if Carlos Sainz rejects the British team. The Brazilian currently works as a reserve driver for Aston Martin F1 team.

Ever since Ferrari announced that they would hire Lewis Hamilton in 2025, Carlos Sainz has been searching for a new team to continue in F1. Since his recent performances have been great, rumors emerged that he received offers from teams like Audi, Williams, and even Alpine. As of now, the Spaniard has not decided which team he will join next year.

Williams driver Logan Sargeant has been struggling in F1 ever since he joined in 2023. He only scored a single point in the 2023 F1 season and has already retired from two races in the first nine races of the season. As a result, the British team has shown immense interest in the Ferrari driver. Team principal James Vowles publicly wooed Carlos Sainz to join his team as well.

According to Swiss-German publication Blick, however, the British team is not fixated only on Sainz. Their reports claimed that Williams was also looking toward Valtteri Bottas and Aston Martin's reserve driver Felipe Drugovich. It further adds that the team and the Brazilian have been in talks for several weeks now.

Felipe Drugovich has been racing karts since 2009 and entered single-seater racing in 2016. He won the MRF Challenge Formula 2000, the Euroformula Open Championship, and the Spanish F3 Championship in 2017 and 2018. In 2020, he was promoted to the F2 championship with MP Motorsport. After two years of racing in F2, he won the championship in 2022.

As of now, he races in European Le Mans Series with Vector Sport in the LMP2 class. He also participated in the 2023 pre-season testing with Aston Martin when Lance Stroll broke his arm in a bike accident. He has also taken part in practice sessions for the British team.

As of now, Williams and Carlos Sainz have not decided on any transfers.

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Former F1 driver reckons Williams' is the better deal than Audi for Carlos Sainz

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya feels Carlos Sainz will eventually join Williams, as Audi's offer and organization is not attractive enough.

Speaking on W Radio Columbia, Montoya explained how Williams has already suffered quite a lot in the past and has improved drastically from within. He claims that Williams' offer is better than Audi's at the moment.

“Carlos will most likely end up at Williams. It’s a better option at the moment than Audi. They have an organisation that has already suffered over the years, they’re already restructured and they’re already going up."

Juan Pablo Montoya himself was a Williams driver between 2001 and 2004. He made his debut in F1 with the British team and won four races with them. He secured third place twice in the drivers' championship with them as well, in 2002 and 2003.