Carlos Sainz is reportedly starting to regret his decision to leave Ferrari for Williams, and is said to be keeping a close eye on developments at McLaren.
Though his early days at Grove were tough, Sainz found some form late in the 2025 season, picking up podium finishes in Baku and Qatar. With Williams putting significant focus on the 2026 campaign, there was a sense of optimism heading into the new year.
But things haven’t gone as planned. The team missed pre-season testing and had to postpone key upgrades. So far, Sainz has scored four of Williams’ five points this season and hasn’t held back in expressing his frustration.
During Sprint qualifying in Miami, he described Williams as being ‘three steps behind.’ While they did manage their first double points finish of 2026 with P9 and P10, it wasn’t much consolation.
Sainz has an exit clause in his contract that could allow him to explore other opportunities if things don’t improve.
Carlos Sainz rethinking Williams move as McLaren return comes into focus
Sainz is under consideration by several teams, with many viewing him as the leading option to take over Max Verstappen’s seat if the Dutchman retires after this season.
Audi, who were previously interested in Sainz when he first left Ferrari, are reportedly still monitoring his situation. But it’s McLaren that now seems to be drawing more of his attention.
With Oscar Piastri being linked to a move to Red Bull, a spot could soon open up at McLaren, and Sainz appears to be keeping a close eye on developments. Speaking on UOL Esporte via YouTube, journalist Julianne Cerasoli weighed in on his situation.
“There’s also a guy who’s keeping a very close eye on all this mess, and that’s Carlos Sainz, who realised that he made a pretty bad decision and he’s going to try to get back into the top teams, right?”
“So he’d be keeping an eye on the seat at McLaren, because he has a good relationship there, he’s very well respected there, he had a good stint there; maybe he should never have left. But I don’t know what it is with Spaniards and their career decisions.”
“Everywhere he’s gone things have got a bit worse then improved; it had nothing to do with him as he’s very good. So there’s that factor.”
Carlos Sainz had no regrets about his McLaren exit in 2021
Sainz spent two seasons with McLaren between 2019 and 2020, playing a key role in their rise from the midfield to regular podium contention. He made the switch to Ferrari ahead of the 2021 season, and despite McLaren’s later championship success, he stands by his choice.
Speaking on the Beyond The Grid podcast last year, Sainz was asked if he could have won the 2025 title in place of Norris had he stayed. He replied: “No. And I tell you, why not? Because first of all, in 2021, in Ferrari, I achieved my first podiums of my career.
“In 2022, I won my first races and in 2023, while I was still winning races at Ferrari, McLaren were still almost dead last in Qualifying of Bahrain. So at that time there would have been no way for me to guess that McLaren would be winning championships by now.
“I think it [leaving McLaren] was the right thing to do at the right time. And the only thing I feel is happiness for the team. I feel honestly happy for them. I don’t feel any regrets.
“Lando has been always quick since the day he became an F1 driver. I think he’s just become a bit more of an all rounder through the last six years, and has become more championship material.”
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