Williams or Audi for Carlos Sainz? Former F1 race winners give their view

Former F1 race winners and teammates Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher feel Carlos Sainz is heading to Williams, as a move to Audi isn't attractive enough. The speculation and anticipation around the Spaniard have been quite interesting as the driver tries to find what is best for his future.

It all began at the start of the season when Carlos Sainz was blindsided by Ferrari signing Lewis Hamilton. The Spaniard's contract expired at the end of the season, and before the driver could negotiate or finalize the final deal, the news of him being replaced surfaced.

Since then, Carlos has been trying to find the best possible seat for himself in 2025. The driver had kept an eye on both Red Bull and Mercedes, with either of them keeping him in a front-running seat.

When that didn't materialize, the driver was finally forced to look elsewhere. The options for him right now appear to be Williams and Audi. Both Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher feel that the Spaniard would go for the Grove-based squad. Talking to W radio Columbia, Montoya said (as quoted by RacingNews365),

“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."

Ralf Schumacher gave his opinion on the Sky Germany broadcast, where he felt that Williams was in a better position as it had decent investor backing to start making progress. He said,

"Carlos Sainz has, if the rumours are to be believed, signed with Williams and that will be announced this week. It may sound strange to Sainz at first, but Williams has big goals and ambitious investors. To be honest, it was the best option for him."

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Ralf Schumacher on why Carlos Sainz does not choose Audi

Ralf Schumacher detailed why Carlos Sainz will not go to Audi/Sauber because the team has just not shown enough in terms of what it can do in the future. In terms of performance, the car is at the back and even in terms of hiring the talent, it has not been aggressive enough.

To add to this, while most of the F1 factories are in Britain, the fact that Audi will be based out of Hinwil Singapore has worked against it as well. He said,

"Audi - or rather Sauber - does not seem to have managed to convey interest and self-confidence. The engineers are a bit stuck, but also the drivers. They have an excellent driver in Nico Hulkenberg, but they also have a free cockpit. Now they have to build up the team. I'm excited about that," Schumacher said.

He added

"The main problem for Audi is the team's location. Motorsport takes place in England - and persuading the engineers' families to come to Hinwil in Switzerland is not easy. I think the team is having a hard time recruiting new people. I would like to see more aggressiveness from Audi."

Multiple reports have been floating that Carlos Sainz has made a decision and will be moving to Williams. The announcement is supposed to be made during the F1 Spanish GP weekend, the Spaniard's home race.