Carlos Sainz just locked in a blockbuster deal with Williams, but one F1 legend is already warning him that this move could be a career-ending mistake. The 31-year-old Spaniard signed a multi-year contract reportedly worth up to €30 million per season, complete with performance-based exit clauses—but not everyone is celebrating.
Former Williams star and Sky Sports Germany analyst Ralf Schumacher didn’t hold back when he spoke about Sainz’s future just hours before the announcement. On the Backstage Boxengasse podcast, Schumacher called it a “no-brainer” for Sainz to ditch Williams and join Adrian Newey at Aston Martin instead.
“Does he want to continue to be successful? Does he want to stay in Formula 1?” Schumacher asked, adding that if Sainz hopes to race into his 40s, he “urgently needs to leave Williams.”
The warning comes from personal experience—Schumacher recalled his own time with Toyota, saying that once you’re out of the top loop for too long, newcomers flood in and you get forgotten.
Schumacher didn’t mince words about Williams’ current struggles, claiming the team “didn’t understand the new concept at all” and lacks the structure to build a competitive car under the new regulations. He described their starting point as “below scratch” and predicted it will take ages for them to climb back.
With Sainz reportedly pocketing a massive salary and exit clauses in his pocket, is he playing the long game—or walking into a trap that could erase him from the F1 map?
