Carlos Sainz will not swap seats with Kimi Antonelli next season, the Spaniard adamant that it is nothing but a rumour as he has a binding contract with Williams.<\/p>\n
Dropped by Ferrari last season to make space for seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, Sainz negotiated with several teams up and down the pit lane, including Mercedes, for a 2025 race seat.<\/p>\n
Could Carlos Sainz replace Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes?<\/p>\n
But as one door after the other was shut, the Spaniard signed a multi-year contract with Williams.<\/p>\n
Sainz<\/a> revealed he spoke with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff \u201ca lot\u201d but that he did \u201cnot really\u201d come closing to agreeing a deal.<\/p>\n \u201cWe spoke a lot with Toto and everyone else at the time,\u201d he told the\u00a0High Performance Podcast, \u201cand I was certainly one of the options that was considered.<\/p>\n \u201cBut how close was I? You can ask Toto that.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think he is very happy with Kimi Antonelli.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, though, there are questions about how happy Wolff is with the Italian.<\/p>\n Although Antonelli\u2019s F1 career began with a hat-trick of top ten results, he\u2019s only scored five times in the last 13 race weekends with Wolff calling his performance at the Italian Grand Prix \u201cunderwhelming\u201d.<\/p>\n The Austrian\u2019s first note of criticism towards the 19-year-old came as Formula 1 awaits official confirmation of Mercedes\u2019 driver plans for the F1 2026 season with Wolff yet to rubberstamp Antonelli, or George Russell.<\/p>\n Wolff has, however, made it clear that he intends continuing with Antonelli and Russell, telling PlanetF1.com and other media outlets in Zandvoort: \u201cI\u2019ve always said there\u2019s not going to be any big news, because we\u2019re doing this. We\u2019re continuing with both of them, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n But without official confirmation, it\u2019s led to speculation that Sainz could be in line to replace the Italian in a straight swap, with Williams used in the past to blood Antonelli\u2019s teammate Russell, who spent three years with the Grove outfit before stepping up to Mercedes.<\/p>\n Sainz scoffed at the rumour, adamant that\u2019s all it is.<\/p>\n \u201cRumours about me going to Mercedes in Antonelli\u2019s place?\u201d he told Sky Italia. \u201cI know I have a contract with Williams and Toto hasn\u2019t called me or James.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just rumours, I don\u2019t listen to them.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m focused on this project. Honestly, I think I am in the right place at the right time.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year has been really hard for me because I\u2019ve been really quick on track, many good qualifyings, but in the race, something always goes wrong. It shows you that the speed has always been there and we\u2019re only missing putting good results together.\u201d<\/p>\n The Spaniard and Williams put it together in Sunday\u2019s Azerbaijan Grand Prix where Sainz raced from second on the grid to third at the chequered flag, securing his debut podium as a Williams driver<\/a>.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time that Sainz, who only joined Williams in January, has been linked to a move away from the Grove team.<\/p>\n Even before his first grand prix, there were claims that his contract included an exit clause that would allow him to leave the team should Mercedes or Red Bull come calling.<\/p>\n Williams team principal James Vowles refuted this.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, no,\u201d he told PlanetF1.com and other select publications.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause, I\u2019m not saying it is anyone on this table, there was only a handful of people in the world that know what we\u2019re talking about. And that\u2019s not even within the team as well.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it\u2019s definitely not journalists that are outside this motorhome.\u201d<\/p>\n Sainz is 12th in the Drivers\u2019 Championship<\/a> having increased his tally to 31 points with his P3 finish in Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n