"I'm surprised, not shocked": Guenther Steiner on Carlos Sainz's move to Williams

Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner claimed that he wasn't shocked but was surprised after it was announced that Carlos Sainz would be joining the Williams F1 team from 2025 onwards. The Spaniard's future in the sport was the season's biggest talking point after Ferrari chose Lewis Hamilton to replace him next year.

As a result, Sainz, a three-time race winner, became the hottest property on the driver's market and was reportedly desired by many teams on the grid including Alpine, Audi, and Williams. But he eventually decided to go with the Grove-based outfit after team boss James Vowles "convinced" him of their project.

While making an appearance on "The Red Flag" podcast, Steiner revealed that he was a "little bit surprised" by Sainz going to Williams instead of Audi. He said:

"I would say I'm surprised, not shocked. I'm a little bit surprised, but as I said before with the Audi, and as you said, if you bring like a Carlos Sainz and you've got a Nico Hulkenberg that attracts other talents because you are taken seriously, you have done everything you could to get the best people there and then people look like, wow, Carlos and Nico are driving for this team next year, that's cool."

"I want to go there because that means we are going and now it's like Carlos decided to go to Williams," he added. (0:40)

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Carlos Sainz gives his reason for joining Williams

Carlos Sainz stated that he was fully confident about his decision to join the Williams F1 team and race alongside Alex Albon for the 2025 season.

As per F1.com, the 29-year-old in his official statement said that the team had all the "right ingredients":

"I am convinced that this team has all the right ingredients to make history again and, starting on January 1, I will give my absolute best to drive Williams forward alongside every single member of the team. I want to thank James Vowles and the entire Board of Williams for their trust and determination.

"Their solid leadership and convictions have played an important role in my decision-making. I truly believe that the core of every successful team lies amongst their people and their culture," he added. (01:30)

He further added that the history of the team was "synonymous with heritage and pure racing" and that the "foundations of the project that lies ahead of us are very strong". The 29-year-old also said he was "really looking forward to being part of it starting next year.”

Sainz's arrival in the British team means that Logan Sargeant will not be driving for them after the 2024 season. The current Ferrari driver's future was seen as a proverbial cork in the bottle for teams' announcements about their driver lineups for the next season.