Williams have rubbished strategies that Carlos Sainz’s F1 contract features a particular exit clause which might enable him to depart for Mercedes or Crimson Bull.
Months of hypothesis was lastly put to mattress as Williams introduced the assertion signing of outgoing Ferrari driver Sainz on a multi-year deal from 2025.
Sainz has spent the previous few months weighing up presents from Sauber/Audi and Alpine earlier than finally selecting Williams. There have been additionally strategies he was conserving his choices open in case a emptiness at Crimson Bull or Mercedes emerged.
Rumours appeared in some media shops that Sainz needed an exit clause in his contract earlier than committing to Williams which might allow him to hitch Mercedes or Crimson Bull if both crew got here knocking.
German publication F1-Insider claimed Sainz’s “€10 million” deal included a situation which might have seen him by no means truly race for Williams.
However Williams crew principal James Vowles moved to disclaim such experiences.
“There are exactly 10 individuals on the earth that know what the inside of the contract holds, simply 10,” Vowles instructed media together with Crash.internet on Tuesday.
“And I assure you, none of you on the decision is it, nobody on this firm is it, and notably sat round me in the intervening time. The Carlos camp know, and I do know what’s inside that. So something you have learn on the web is theory, and that’s it.
“The message that [the deal is for] ’25 and ’26 and past didn’t come from myself, that got here from Carlos. He needed it to be abundantly clear to all of you, to the world, that he has dedicated and that is the place he needs to be.”
Sainz will substitute Logan Sargeant to turn out to be Alex Albon’s new teammate and full Williams’ 2025 driver line-up.
“I actually do consider in what we’re doing, the route of journey, and why it is going to be profitable,” Vowles added. “I consider the identical round Carlos as properly – if you are going to go for a person that is going to make the distinction.
“I am not simply centered on how fast he’s within the automobile. I am centered on how he’s as a character – and this additionally contains how his entourage is.
“That features Carlos his supervisor, and Carlos his father. His father is as performance-driven as Junior. He is an unimaginable character, and the three of them collectively come as a package deal, and that is what we want right here in Williams. I believe the match is completely good.
“They’re the precise phrases I instructed them from the very starting to the very finish of this journey.”
