Carlos Sainz reveals father’s ‘100 per cent’ Audi F1 guarantee as shock snub explained

While Carlos Sainz said his father is certain that Audi will grow into an F1 force, he stands by his call to choose Williams instead.

Sainz went into the F1 2024 campaign knowing that he needed a new place on the grid to call home from next season, with Ferrari signing seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton to replace him from F1 2025.

Carlos Sainz Sr ‘100 per cent’ convinced on Audi F1

Sainz initially was strongly linked with the Audi F1 project, as the German marquee prepares to morph Sauber into its F1 works team from 2026 when the new regulations arrive. Sainz’s father, rally legend Carlos Sr, is very familiar with Audi, having won the 2024 Dakar Rally with the brand in their final appearance.

Yet, even with his father in no doubt that Audi F1 will come good, Williams – led by team principal James Vowles – was the project which convinced Sainz to sign on the dotted line.

“It was not an easy decision. Up until the day I signed, there were several good options,” Sainz told Auto Motor und Sport.

“In the end, I had to follow my instincts. I have the utmost respect for the Audi brand. My father has told me a thousand times how good they will be. He is 100 per cent sure that Audi will be strong in the future.

“Although I wanted to help build something up, I also wanted to achieve good results in the short term. In my opinion, Williams was the best option. I still stand by this decision.

“Time will tell whether I was right. My gut feeling told me that this project with James Vowles was the best solution in the short and medium term.”

Asked how involved his father is in his day-to-day racing business now, Sainz added: “He is still my biggest supporter and I know that I can count on his advice. However, he now only turns up when I need him. That is much rarer than it used to be. It has become less and less every year.

“But at important moments, such as after Singapore, I ask him for his opinion. Then we have an open conversation.

“One of my father’s strengths is that he is always very honest. When he is less at the track, he tends to see the big picture from the outside. That’s very helpful because sometimes I’m too deep in the tunnel and he has a bird’s eye view.”

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Sainz was linked with just about every team on the F1 grid – including Red Bull and Mercedes – before he eventually signed with Williams.

And the four-time race winner did admit that it was painful to be overlooked by those leading teams.

“I’ve definitely come to peace, and I am a true believer that if I’m not going there, it’s because life just doesn’t want me to be there – there’s something else coming after that, that will actually turn out to be good,” Sainz told Sky F1.

“It hurt at the time, we all have egos, and I have a driver ego, and I couldn’t understand it at the time.

“I still personally cannot understand certain choices that people have done, but at the same time, it creates even more of a challenge in me, and it even makes me more excited for Williams.

“Williams is the one that has invested in me, that have backed me up from the beginning, the ones that came to me a full year ago, and that actually makes me super excited.

“I said, ‘I want to give to these guys what they’ve given to me. Give back to them this trust and this belief in me’.

“I cannot wait to go there and, together with them, build something good.”

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