Sainz on being snubbed by top teams: I’ve come to peace

When Sainz was announced to be leaving Ferrari at the end of the current F1 season to make way for Lewis Hamilton, there was much speculation about the Spaniard's final destination in 2025.

First he was linked with a direct swap with Mercedes replacing Hamilton, but the eight-time constructors' champions opted for youth and signed Andrea Kimi Antonelli to race alongside George Russell.

There were also talks that Red Bull would be an option, especially with the struggles of Sergio Perez, but the Mexican has held on to his seat long enough for Sainz to give up and sign with Williams, and while the under-pressure Mexican driver's future is still far from secure, there have been talks about Red Bull showing interest in Williams' rookie Franco Colapinto, with Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda both targeting becoming Max Verstappen's teammates.

In an interview with Sky Sports F1, Sainz was quizzed on how he felt after the top teams closed their doors in his face; he said: "I’ve definitely come to peace.

"I’m 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.

"It hurt at the time. We all have egos… 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," he insisted.

However, Sainz insists he is now fully focused on his upcoming Williams foray; he added: "At the same time, it creates even more of a challenge in me, 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.

"It actually makes me super excited. I’ve 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.

"It gives me good strength. I cannot wait to go there and together with them build something good," he maintained.

Sainz will race alongside Alex Albon at Williams, the driver who has been leading the Grove outfit recently, but will there be any issues for the two to coexist?

Sainz doesn't believe so; he explained: "I had a really good experience in McLaren, having this really good camaraderie with Lando [Norris], both being kind of, not number ones, but I was maybe the experienced [driver], he was more the rookie, but we were both pushing each other flat-out.

"It’s a similar way to Charles here [at Ferrari], although maybe Charles has always been seen maybe as the future of the project. But I’ve always enjoyed having strong teammates.

"I think Alex is going to be a great guy to work with next year, and I think with my experience from Ferrari, I can just probably help Williams to become a better team and work together with Alex to build a strong team like I did in McLaren with Lando," Sainz concluded.

Sainz had won two races in 2024 with Ferrari, the Australian and Mexico City Grands Prix. He is fifth in the F1 drivers' championship with 244 points with three races remaining.

The 30-year-old driver from Madrid will make his Williams debut in the post-season test following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale.