Carlos Sainz said the feeling he had upon leaving McLaren, believing the team could be World Champions in future, made him “trust my instinct” and choose Williams.

Sainz left McLaren for Ferrari in 2020 with the team in the midfield, but his former employers were crowned Constructors’ Champions last season – narrowly beating Sainz and Charles Leclerc’s combined total by just 14 points come Abu Dhabi.

Carlos Sainz: ‘Project and people’ behind Williams move

Sainz’s future was a hot topic of discussion in the early part of 2024, with the Spanish driver said he had negotiated with every team with an available cockpit for the 2025 season before making a decision.

He ultimately chose Williams as his next destination, and while the team finished ninth in the Constructors’ standings last year, work is underway behind the scenes at Grove to try and push the team back to the front of the field.

Sainz signed a multi-year deal to become a Williams driver alongside Alex Albon, and admitted that when the time came to make a decision, he looked back at his departure from McLaren and the “combination” of the project and people in place made him choose to move to Williams.

“For me, what was fundamental was not so much the short term at the beginning, when I was having to take such an important decision,” Sainz admitted in a behind-the-scenes video of his first day at the Williams factory, while being interviewed by team principal James Vowles.

“I was very focused in which team was going to be quicker in 2025. Who was generating more downforce? Who is finding out stuff that is going to make them quicker? Finally, I realised that my decision had to be based on two things: The project and the people.

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“And when I started discussing more in detail with James, I realised that he had put together a very strong project here in Williams.

“He was forming a team with a vision, with a project, together with Dorilton [Capital, team owners, ed.], that I think is going to bring this team back to the front with very strong leadership, with a vision that immediately, from the beginning, made me, let’s say, fall in love with the project and trust his leadership.

“Then I say people, but it’s part of the same thing, the people in the end.

“I remember when I left McLaren, I really thought there was really good people there, and that team could be World Champion in the future.

“McLaren ended up being World Champion last year, and I said: ‘Okay, I need to trust my instinct.’

“I know Williams have a good project. They have the backing, and they have good people.

“And in the end, this combination of two things made me really believe in Williams and come and join you guys.”

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