Ex-Ferrari Boss Cautions Carlos Sainz of “Long-Term” Williams Consequences Before Making Audi Choice

“Where will Carlos Sainz go in 2025?” This is a question that everyone has on their minds. The Ferrari driver has been replaced for Lewis Hamilton in the next season and with that Sainz’s career has been in shambles. As the season progresses, the Spaniard has lost many opportunities as seats started to fill up, and after everything is said and done, it seems like Williams and Sauber are his two options.

But which team is the right one for Carlos Sainz? While Williams is performing slightly better than Sauber this year, Audi will be taking over in 2026 and the tables will turn. With the rumors around the paddocks saying that Williams might be the right choice, Peter Windsor comes forth to explain why going to Audi would be a better thing for Sainz’s career.

Why Carlos Sainz should join Audi instead of Williams?

Moving to Williams will put Carlos Sainz in a seat next to Alex Albon, who is doing quite well this season. Williams is the only team at the bottom of the grid that is showing progress and so far has a much better car than Sauber. However, when Audi takes over Sauber, the team might make improvements with the car being a successful manufacturer themselves.

In the latest episode of Live F1 Talk with Peter Windsor, the former Ferrari GM explains the long-term implications of joining each team. During the podcast, Windsor was asked about Sainz’s decision to join either team. To this, the F1 pundit replied, “Oh yeah, exactly, as we were saying earlier, no problems that you bust across. Same question, but I’ll just reiterate: I totally agree with you. Very short-term decisions.”

Windsor explained that Williams would be a good team for just 2025, saying, “If he goes to Williams just to have a better 2025, he should be thinking of 2026 and beyond. Look forward to 2025, where he can only look good, really, because the teams are long-term low, and all he can do is look good.”

It’s a difficult decision for Sainz and time is running out as the seats are filling up quickly. Mercedes is a promising team on the grid. However, there have been no talks of the Spaniard joining them as Toto Wolff is fixated on bringing in Max Verstappen to replace Lewis Hamilton.

Who will join Mercedes in 2025?

Carlos Sainz has been a promising driver all season, but when it comes to replacing Lewis Hamilton, Toto Wolff is looking mainly for world champions. Besides Max Verstappen, Wolff is looking in the direction to bring back a retired F1 driver to the grid. While Wolff has not made a comment on it, Sebastian Vettel has made it clear that he has been in talks with the Silver Arrow boss.

Having Sebastian Vettel join the grid again would be a joyous moment for the sport, as he is known to be one of the best drivers. The 4-time world champion is a strong contender to the seat as Wolff knows that the German can deliver. Adding to that, having a German world champion in a German world champion team just sounds poetic, to begin with. Besides Vettel, there are a few more drivers that are on the short list of Mercedes.

Kimi Antonelli is the driver that Toto Wolff has most of his money on. The junior Mercedes driver has been super impressive in his F2 career and Wolff wants to put him in Lewis Hamilton’s seat as soon as next year. While he is still to apply and wait for a Super Licence, Antonelli might need some time in Williams before taking the seat of the most achieving world champion known to F1.

Although Max Verstappen is on the list of drivers that Mercedes wants to bring in, that will only be possible if the 3-time champion decides to leave Red Bull. That being said, do you think Carlos Sainz deserves the Mercedes seat instead of an end-of-the-grid team?