Williams prepare for Carlos Sainz rejection with surprise ‘Plan B’ driver option – report

Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich could emerge as the “favourite” to race for Williams in F1 2025 if the team fail to land “number-one target” Carlos Sainz, it has been claimed.

Sainz has emerged as a serious contender to join Williams over recent weeks, with team principal James Vowles confirming at the recent Canadian Grand Prix that the outgoing Ferrari driver is his “number-one target.”

Alternative target identified amid fresh doubt over Carlos Sainz’s Williams move

An announcement was widely anticipated ahead of Sainz’s home race, the Spanish Grand Prix, last weekend, but the Barcelona event came and went without the 29-year-old’s future being resolved.

It has since been claimed that Sainz has received a last-minute proposal from Alpine following the return of former team principal Flavio Briatore as an executive advisor.

Briatore – whose remit, according to Alpine, includes “scouting top talents and providing insights on the driver market” – was spotted in conversation with Sainz’s father, Carlos Sainz Sr, in the Barcelona paddock, fuelling speculation that the Enstone-based team could hijack Williams’ move for Sainz.

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Sainz, who previously spent a 12-month spell with Alpine (then Renault) in 2017/18, has also been courted by the existing Sauber team – who will become Audi in time for the F1 2026 rules changes – for some time.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com after the race in Barcelona, Sainz teased that an announcement on his F1 2025 plans finally “could be” made ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.

While Williams remains Sainz’s most likely destination, a report by Swiss-German publication Blick has claimed Drugovich – as well as current Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas – could emerge as a serious contender to replace Logan Sargeant if a deal for Sainz cannot be completed.

Despite being pictured meeting Vowles at Williams’ hospitality unit at last month’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Bottas is described as having only a “small chance” of returning to the team with whom he previously claimed nine podium finishes across four seasons between 2013-16.

Drugovich has struggled to secure an F1 race seat since winning the prestigious F2 (formerly GP2) title – previously held by the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and George Russell – in 2022.

The Brazilian, who brings significant financial backing, has held the role of reserve driver at Aston Martin since 2022, making a number of FP1 appearances and participating in pre-season testing in Bahrain in F1 2023 after Lance Stroll was ruled out through injury.

Drugovich, 24, is unlikely to force his way into contention for an Aston Martin drive in the near future with Stroll – whose father Lawrence owns the Silverstone-based team – believed to be on a rolling contract and two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso signed up until at least the F1 2026 season.

A race seat for Drugovich would make him the first Brazilian to compete in F1 since Felipe Massa left Williams at the end of 2017.

After Williams announced last month that Alex Albon had signed a multi-year contract extension to remain with the team until at least the end of F1 2026, Sargeant is increasingly likely to be dropped at the end of 2024 having scored just a single point since arriving on the grid last year.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com in Barcelona, Sargeant commented that he is “just trying to keep uplifting” himself as speculation over his seat intensifies.

He said: “If anything, you just really focus on yourself.

“At the end of the day, you just want to perform the best you can. That’s obviously going to give you the best situation at the end of the year, which is where you want to be.

“I’m just trying to keep uplifting myself, get performance.”

Asked if the team’s openness of their pursuit of Sainz has been unfair on him, Sargeant added: “Not necessarily fair, unfair, doesn’t really matter – I think you always just have to try and do the most with what you have,” he said.

“I think, certainly, there’s been plenty of times this year, where even when you do a good job it doesn’t really show. Even if you’re performing well, if the result’s not there it doesn’t look great.

“I just try and keep trying to do the performance side and as we get these little things, take advantage of them when they come to me.”

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