Carlos Sainz is not simply agreeing to another season at Williams. According to Marca, whose reporting has been picked up across the F1 press this weekend, his camp is pushing for a release mechanism that would let him walk if the team fails to make up ground and a top seat opens up.

Talks are said to be in the closing stages, with an announcement expected within days and potentially before the Thursday media day at Zandvoort on 20 August. The renewal is understood to cover 2027 only, keeping his options open for the silly season that follows.

The €30m number Marca does not stand behind

Reports earlier in the summer put the fresh offer at around €30m a year, up from a current package understood to be worth roughly €13m. Marca has declined to endorse the €30m figure, which is now believed to have circulated as negotiating leverage rather than a settled number.

Williams is willing to offer a Ferrari-level salary, but financial constraints and Sainz’s preference for a short deal are expected to shape the final terms.

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Ninth in the standings with no top seat open

The context for the clause is a season Williams would rather forget. The team sits ninth in the constructors’ championship with 11 points after 11 rounds.

Sainz has outperformed Alex Albon 9-2 in qualifying and scored six of those 11 points, but the overweight FW48 has struggled to convert his one-lap pace on Sundays.

The doors at the front of the grid are largely shut. Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Audi all have their 2027 lineups accounted for, leaving Sainz with little immediate alternative to staying put. A first-year exit clause is his hedge against that landscape shifting mid-contract.

Verstappen’s Red Bull clause as the reference point

The template being referenced is Verstappen’s own deal. His Red Bull contract runs to the end of 2028 and is understood to include a break clause tied to his position in the drivers’ championship at the summer break: according to a June report, Verstappen can walk for 2027 if he falls outside the top two by the mid-season pause.

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The mechanics of Sainz’s version differ. His clause is expected to be triggered by Williams’ performance and by concrete interest from a competitive rival, rather than by a fixed championship threshold. Neither his management nor Williams has publicly confirmed the clause exists.

If the extension is signed and Verstappen decides to use his clause, which has already been triggered by his summer break position outside the top two, Sainz’s hedge becomes immediately relevant: a Red Bull seat opening for 2027 would land squarely in the window his contract is being written to accommodate. The paddock reconvenes at Zandvoort on 21 August for FP1 of the Dutch Grand Prix, where the announcement is expected to land.

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