{"id":915,"date":"2026-08-19T10:52:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T13:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=915"},"modified":"2026-08-19T10:52:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T13:52:25","slug":"williams-celebrates-carlos-sainz-contract-renewal-highlighting-one-of-the-strongest-driver-pairings-on-f1-grid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/williams-celebrates-carlos-sainz-contract-renewal-highlighting-one-of-the-strongest-driver-pairings-on-f1-grid\/","title":{"rendered":"Williams celebrates Sainz contract renewal, highlighting &#8216;one of the strongest driver pairings&#8217; on F1 grid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Key Takeaways (TL;DR):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Two-Year Extension:<\/strong> Williams officialized a two-year extension with Carlos Sainz, keeping him tied to the Grove-based squad through 2028.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Praise from Leadership:<\/strong> Team Principal James Vowles lauded Sainz&#8217;s behind-the-scenes engineering input and unwavering commitment to the team&#8217;s ongoing rebuild.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Formidable Lineup:<\/strong> Vowles reinforced his belief that the driver pairing of Sainz and Alexander Albon ranks among the strongest on the modern Formula 1 grid.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Williams celebrated on Wednesday (August 19) the contract extension of Carlos Sainz for two additional seasons in Formula 1. Team Principal James Vowles highlighted the Spaniard&#8217;s dedication since arriving at Grove and affirmed that retaining Sainz alongside Alexander Albon provides the team with one of the most formidable driver lineups on the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The announcement cements long-term stability for Williams following a period of performance uncertainty at the start of the 2026 technical regulations. Having previously secured Albon on a long-term deal, Williams moves into the upcoming seasons with its lead driver pairing fully locked in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;From the moment he arrived, Carlos&#8217; talent behind the wheel and dedication at the factory have been extremely valuable for this project, working day in, day out with engineers to find every millisecond,&#8221; Vowles stated. &#8220;Carlos is a leader in this team, and I am thrilled that he can see what is possible as we continue our rebuild.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Beyond his driving skill and speed, his work behind the scenes in pursuit of peak performance is outstanding. Together with Alexander, I truly believe we have one of the strongest driver pairings on the grid and a team capable of fighting together for every fraction of performance,&#8221; Vowles concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DG1_6213_fvN2R8cb_20260315054553-1200x800.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1001092696\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DG1_6213_fvN2R8cb_20260315054553-1200x800.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DG1_6213_fvN2R8cb_20260315054553-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DG1_6213_fvN2R8cb_20260315054553-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DG1_6213_fvN2R8cb_20260315054553-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DG1_6213_fvN2R8cb_20260315054553-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DG1_6213_fvN2R8cb_20260315054553-150x100.jpeg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon will continue to lead Williams&#8217; F1 effort (Photo: F1)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sainz&#8217;s commitment caps a busy news cycle ahead of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/f1\/hadjar-confirmed-out-dutch-gp-wrist-injury-lawson-returns-red-bull\/\">2026 Dutch Grand Prix, which also saw Red Bull shift its driver lineup following Isack Hadjar&#8217;s wrist injury<\/a>. Formula 1 returns August 21\u201323 at Circuit Zandvoort for Round 12 of the World Championship. <strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/\">GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/a><\/strong> is covering all track activities live on-site with reporter Leonid Kliuev.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2026 Dutch Grand Prix \u2014 Session Schedule (Local Time \/ CEST)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Day<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Session<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Local Time (CEST)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Friday, August 21<\/strong><\/td><td>Free Practice 1<\/td><td>12:30 \u2013 13:30<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Friday, August 21<\/strong><\/td><td>Sprint Qualifying<\/td><td>16:30 \u2013 17:14<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Saturday, August 22<\/strong><\/td><td>Sprint Race<\/td><td>12:00 \u2013 12:30<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Saturday, August 22<\/strong><\/td><td>Grand Prix Qualifying<\/td><td>16:00 \u2013 17:00<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Sunday, August 23<\/strong><\/td><td>Grand Prix (72 Laps)<\/td><td>15:00<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How long is Carlos Sainz&#8217;s contract renewal with Williams?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carlos Sainz signed a <strong>two-year extension<\/strong>, securing his drive with Williams through at least the <strong>2028 season<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who will drive for Williams alongside Carlos Sainz?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Alexander Albon<\/strong> partners Sainz, giving Williams an unchanged lineup for the upcoming seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What did James Vowles say about Williams&#8217; driver pairing?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">James Vowles stated that the combination of Sainz and Albon gives Williams <strong>&#8220;one of the strongest driver pairings on the grid.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following a two-year contract extension, Team Principal James Vowles praised Carlos Sainz&#8217;s dedication to Williams&#8217; rebuild and his tireless work behind the scenes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020308788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon will continue to lead Williams' F1 effort","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Williams","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[],"footnotes":"","42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[147,62],"42wp_author":[59],"class_list":["post-915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","tag-carlos-sainz","tag-williams","42wp_author-fabricio-carvalho"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=915"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":916,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915\/revisions\/916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020308788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=915"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}