Carlos Sainz signs multi-year Williams deal through 2027 F1 season

The contrast with Albon's single-year extension is the detail worth sitting with: Williams has committed long-term to Sainz while keeping Albon on a shorter leash, which tells you something about how the team views each driver's role in its future. For Sainz, a multi-year deal into 2027 — his third season at Grove — suggests he sees Williams as a genuine project rather than a stopgap, and Williams sees him as central to whatever they're building under the new regulations. The timing, with both driver announcements landing within 24 hours, reads as deliberate positioning ahead of what the 2026 rules reset means for the midfield order.