Official: Carlos Sainz to Stay with Williams as Third-Highest-Paid F1 Driver

It’s official. Carlos Sainz will continue racing for Williams from 2027. The British team has announced Sainz’s renewal with a multi-year contract that will make him one of Formula 1’s highest-paid drivers. Sainz accepts Williams’ millions given the scarcity of options outside his current team.

Williams’ entry into the new Formula 1 technical regulations has been a fiasco, so to persuade their drivers they’ve had to dip into the cheque book. On Tuesday they announced Alexander Albon’s renewal for one more year, and now Carlos Sainz is extending his link with a multi-year contract, but with exit clauses.

Carlos Sainz and Albon will continue forming Williams’ driver pairing

Carlos Sainz has already made up his mind. The Spanish driver promised that during the summer he would take the final decision about his future and he has kept his word: Sainz has renewed with Williams, with a contract said to be multi-year, but without specifying how many years it actually contemplates.

In reality, the duration of the contract is secondary since it features exit clauses based on the team’s performance, which means that if Williams fails to meet a minimum performance, Sainz will have the authority to unilaterally terminate his contract and accept any other offer he has from another team.

The most notable fact is that Carlos Sainz will become one of the best-paid drivers in Formula 1. Specifically, Sainz’s salary will rise to 30 million euros per year, a figure similar to what Fernando Alonso earns at Aston Martin, and that would place him as the third-highest paid on the grid, only behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

In fact, Sainz would go from the 12 million euros he currently earns to 30, a pay raise of more than double that illustrates Williams’ faith in the Spaniard’s leadership. They want Sainz to lead Williams back into Formula 1’s elite after a terrible start to 2026.

Additionally, Williams has also announced the renewal of Alexander Albon, though for the Thai driver the deal is very different. Albon renews for only one more season, until 2027, a short contract that is expected to situate him as the team’s second driver in status behind Sainz.

As he approaches 33, Carlos Sainz has just signed the contract of his life to devote the remainder of his sporting career to Williams.

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