Rumours Williams offer Sainz 30m euros amid Piastri fury

Williams is reportedly offering Carlos Sainz an enormous 30 million euros per year to stay, even as the Spaniard delays his decision and faces fierce criticism for his Hungarian GP collision with Oscar Piastri.

The figure would place Sainz among Formula 1’s highest-paid drivers, despite his repeated criticism of Williams’ car throughout the season.

He left Hungary saying he would use the summer break to decide his future calmly.

The timing is awkward, however, after Sainz collided with Piastri while being lapped and then refused to accept clear responsibility.

Sainz claimed he had not seen Piastri and had not received adequate blue-flag warnings, although footage showed his Williams passing multiple illuminated blue panels.

Williams later confirmed that the blue warning system on his steering-wheel display was not functioning correctly.

Piastri was unimpressed.

"I don’t really care if he didn’t see me," the McLaren driver said. "That’s unacceptable."

He described the incident as "one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen on a racetrack."

Sainz, though, said he had no intention of approaching Piastri to apologise. "No, I don’t need to," he said.

"It’s a normal racing incident. I don’t know if he shouldn’t have been a bit more cautious, given that he was fighting for a podium finish."

"He could have positioned himself a bit better, because we also had all these problems with the blue flags."

Sainz’s defence was even publicly challenged by a Community Note on X.

Piastri also pointed to Sainz’s role as a director of the GPDA and his frequent criticism of other competitors.

"He’s quite critical of others," Piastri said.

"Others have already told him he’s frustrating on the track. Then when you do something like that, I think maybe you should take a good look at yourself."

Williams boss James Vowles nevertheless defended his driver.

"We could have done a better job and warned him about Piastri," he said.

Sky Deutschland pundit Ralf Schumacher believes the standard race penalty was insufficient. "For me, Carlos Sainz should also be penalised for the next race," he said.

"Otherwise, this will set a precedent, and it simply can’t happen."

Despite the controversy and Sainz’s public impatience, Vowles appears determined to retain both him and Alex Albon.

"This winter has unexpectedly highlighted all our shortcomings," the Williams boss admitted.

"This has set us back considerably, and we’re doing everything we can this season, but the reality is that we must ensure everything is in order for 2027 and beyond."

"They’ve been by our side every step of the way and have remained steadfast despite the difficulties we’ve put them through on the track," he added, referring to Sainz and Albon.

"They’re two incredible drivers. They deserve to fight for points, at the very least, every weekend, and we haven’t allowed them to."