How close was Carlos Sainz to Mercedes deal? – F1 correspondent provides insight

Sky F1 correspondent Craig Slater understands that Mercedes never put a “concrete offer” in front of Carlos Sainz, and suspects he thinks Williams will inflict the least reputational damage.

Sainz became a key player in the F1 2025 driver market as the wait went on for him to reach a decision on his future team, having known since before the F1 2024 campaign began that Lewis Hamilton would be taking his Ferrari seat.

No Mercedes ‘concrete offer’ to Carlos Sainz

But, Sainz’s future is now determined after he signed on the dotted line with Williams as part of a multi-year deal with options to extend beyond 2026.

Sainz had been linked with pretty every team on the grid, including Mercedes, creating the prospect of a straight seat swap between he and Hamilton. However, Slater understands that this at no stage was close to becoming a reality.

“Mercedes, I had reported six weeks ago as being a no-go for him, due to the timeframes within which Mercedes and Sainz wanted to make their futures decisions by,” said Slater on the Sky Sports F1 podcast .

“It seemed like possibly he was a contender again, or at least discussions of some kind could reopen in the last three to four weeks with Mercedes, but it hasn’t gone anywhere.

“And I’ve just been trying to check with people who have a window on Mercedes’ plans… I don’t believe any kind of concrete offer was ever made to Carlos Sainz by Mercedes or even the door open for a season there potentially. So I think it’s always been a long shot.”

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Slater said that Sauber – to become Audi in 2026 – and Alpine also had offers on the table for Sainz, the latter able to “turn his head a bit”.

But, Sainz has chosen Williams, and as well as making this decision due to belief in the project under James Vowles, Slater also reckons that Sainz decided based on which move he felt was least “damaging” for his reputation short term.

“Ultimately, he’s had to decide between Williams, Audi, and a late bid is from Alpine, which did turn his head a bit,” Slater continued, “but ultimately, he’s gone for Williams.

“It’s not a great short-term option based on current form, and I think that has been uppermost in Carlos’ mind. I think he is conscious of the fact that some of these projects you get in F1, for a driver, at least can be damaging in the short term to your reputation. You can very quickly go from hero to zero.

“So I actually do think, as well as admiring the project, and it’s a great coup for Williams, I think his opinion is, ‘next year, I will look best in the Williams, I’ll get the best opportunity for good results in that car’.”

Sainz has claimed three grand prix wins so far in his career, the latest coming at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix upon his return from appendix surgery.

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