Carlos Sainz has made an early prediction for the 2026 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship, backing George Russell or Max Verstappen to claim the title.
Asked directly on the Beyond the Grid podcast, the Williams driver pointed to Mercedes’ Russell or the recently dethroned four-time champion Verstappen as the likely contenders for the crown this year.
Sainz enjoyed a strong finish to 2025 after a tricky start, earning two podiums for Williams as the team climbed to fifth in the Constructors’ standings. Like many drivers, he switched to Williams hoping the 2026 regulation reset would provide a platform for further success.
After pre-season testing, it appears Mercedes and Ferrari are the teams to beat, with McLaren and Red Bull completing what looks to be a strong early-season front four. Williams began the year on the back foot, skipping a full Barcelona shakedown in January in favour of virtual track testing, but bounced back in Bahrain by topping the overall lap count over six days.
With the grid entering a new era of technical regulations, Sainz’s assessment underscores the expectation that consistency, reliability, and early-season performance will be crucial in determining who can mount a genuine title challenge.
Carlos Sainz has singled out George Russell and Max Verstappen as the most likely contenders for the 2026 Drivers’ Championship.
“I’ll say two names, okay? George Russell or Max Verstappen,” Sainz told host Tom Clarkson. When asked for further reasoning, he simply replied, “No, you cannot,” before laughing, later adding: “From what I’ve seen in Bahrain in three days of testing.”
While that prediction places his own Williams out of immediate contention for the title, Sainz remains focused on long-term progress with the Grove-based squad. He sees 2026 as the start of a multi-year project to restore Williams to the front of the grid.
Asked what would define a good season for the team, Sainz said: “Progress. Keep showing progress. Doesn’t matter which area, we need to progress in every area. I’m not going to look too much at the results, because if there’s a year that is difficult for results and to judge where everyone is, it’s going to be this one. But progress in every area.” On the prospect of top-three finishes, he added: “I’m going to try. I hope so.”
At 31, Sainz is entering what he considers the physical peak of his career and views this stage as a “life project.” “If you ask me in three, four years’ time, where I would like to be, I’d say, ideally, fighting for a championship with Williams,” he explained. “Being 31, there’s nothing that would make me happier than putting all my effort, using the peak of my career to bring back one of the greatest teams in F1 to the top. If we manage to achieve that, I’ll look back being very, very proud for sure.”
Sainz’s vision for Williams underscores both his personal ambition and the long-term strategy he hopes will restore the historic team to its former glory while navigating the unpredictable start of the F1 2026 season.