Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Williams has confirmed Carlos Sainz has signed a new multi-year contract extension, locking in its Sainz-Alex Albon driver line-up for 2027 despite the team’s difficult 2026 Formula 1 season.
The significance is less that Williams wanted to keep Sainz than that Sainz chose to stay on these terms. His previous deal had been due to expire at the end of 2026, and this season has been a sharp step back for a team that overachieved last year. After finishing a surprise fifth in the 2025 constructors’ championship, helped by Sainz podiums at Baku and Qatar, Williams has slipped to ninth after 11 races of 2026 with just 11 points from a campaign shaped by an overweight car that has left it badly off the pace.
That made a multi-year commitment far from straightforward. Sainz had been linked to frustration over Williams’ lack of progress and had monitored the driver market during the summer break, but the realistic alternatives were limited. Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren offered no clear opening, while Audi had already committed to Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto on multi-year deals.
Instead, Sainz has chosen to back the long-term rebuild at Grove. In the Williams team announcement, Carlos Sainz said: “I’m thrilled to announce my continued journey with the Williams F1 Team family. We have what it takes to turn this around together. I’m as committed as I was on day one to helping get Williams back to where it belongs.”
The extension completes Williams’ 2027 line-up a day after Albon’s one-year renewal, meaning the team will carry the same pairing it has run since 2025 into a third straight season. For a team trying to recover from a poor start to the new rules era, keeping continuity in both race seats is a clear statement that it still sees its rebuilding project as driver-led as well as technical.
Williams team principal James Vowles said Sainz’s value has extended well beyond results. “From the moment he joined, Carlos’ talent behind the steering wheel and dedication back at the factory have been extremely valuable for this project,” Vowles said. “He is a leader of this team, and I’m thrilled that he can see what’s possible as we continue to rebuild it.”
For Sainz, the decision ties his prime years more closely to a project that has stalled badly in 2026 but still believes last season’s progress can be recovered. For Williams, keeping both Sainz and Albon in place gives the team continuity heading into 2027 and preserves the experienced line-up it believes can help pull it back up the grid.