Carlos Sainz had been aiming to extend his contract with Ferrari until big news broke that Lewis Hamilton would take his seat next season.

This announcement made Sainz one of the top candidates for Hamilton’s seat at Mercedes, but instead, the team decided to promote young rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Meanwhile, Red Bull also decided against bringing the Spaniard back, choosing to keep Sergio Perez alongside Max Verstappen, despite some struggles that had dropped Red Bull to third in the championship standings. 

Eventually, Sainz signed a multi-year contract with Williams but he has now admitted it was tough at first to accept that he wasn’t selected for a seat with one of the front-running teams.

“I’ve definitely come to peace, and I am a true believer that if I’m not going there, it’s because life just doesn’t want me to be there,” he told Sky Sports F1.

“There’s something else coming after that, that will actually turn out to be good.

“It hurt at the time, we all have egos, and I have a driver ego, and I couldn’t understand it at the time.

He felt uncertain about some of the choices made by Mercedes and Red Bull, particularly as he had been in talks with almost every team at some point during the season. 

Williams, however, provided Sainz with a long-term opportunity, which he hopes will pay off as they look to improve their performance under the 2026 regulations.

Though he admitted it ‘hurt’ not to land a top drive, Sainz is now at ready for this new chapter with Williams, aiming to move up the grid alongside teammate Alex Albon.

“I still personally cannot understand certain choices that people have done, but at the same time, it creates even more of a challenge in me, and it even makes me more excited for Williams.

“Williams is the one that has invested in me, that have backed me up from the beginning, the ones that came to me a full year ago, and that actually makes me super excited.

“I said, ‘I want to give to these guys what they’ve given to me. Give back to them this trust and this belief in me’.

“I cannot wait to go there and, together with them, build something good.”