威廉姆斯留住塞恩斯和阿尔本：留队是否正确？
在2026赛季表现不佳之际，威廉姆斯车队成功说服卡洛斯·塞恩斯和亚历克斯·阿尔本留队。塞恩斯签署了新的多年合同，而阿尔本的2027年确认据The 比赛了解并非新比赛合同，而是与原合同中的退出条款有关。
对于表现令人失望的2026年F1赛季，威廉姆斯车队迎来了一个好消息——它已经说服卡洛斯·塞恩斯（塞恩斯）和亚历克斯·阿尔本（阿尔本）留在车队。
这两份合同相隔一天宣布，塞恩斯同意了一项新的多年承诺，而据The 比赛了解，阿尔本并没有签订新的比赛合同——他的2027年确认实际上与合同中已有的退出条款有关。
在威廉姆斯这个艰难赛季的背景下，这一点非常重要。那么他们留下来的决定正确吗？而且，外面真的有更好的选择吗？
以下是我们对这些进展的看法：
威廉姆斯在这里算是幸运的。其他中游车队的选择仍然存在太多问号，而车手在这些车队间流动的迹象又太少，无法为阿尔本和塞恩斯提供令人信服的离开途径。在这种背景下，他们继续相信2026年前景所承载的全部希望，而不是盯着2026年极其糟糕的现实，是说得通的。
因为威廉姆斯赛车来得晚、速度慢、超重，而且今年几乎没有什么真正变快的希望——这原本可能（在某些情况下，甚至应该）彻底摧毁车队留住这两位极具实力的车手的机会，毕竟车队的计划显然是围绕借助规则大改实现一次巨大飞跃而制定的。而不是像现在这样大幅倒退。
任何一个对F1还怀有几分情怀的人，都希望看到威廉姆斯复兴。看着这支车队垫底令人心痛，看着它再次大步向前则令人欣慰。而今年恰好在新时代本该真正开花结果的时候出现如此重大的一次失足，这意味着车队进入2027年时，需要向车迷、尤其是向它的车手证明的东西实在太多了。
我想最大的问题是：塞恩斯还能去哪儿？是的，理论上还有奥迪，但奥迪也并没有真正惊艳世界。也许，与其在没有任何更好成功保证的情况下贸然跳船，还不如留在熟悉的地方。
塞恩斯正处于职业生涯的一个阶段：如果他能留在这里，并尽最大努力帮助威廉姆斯重建为一支有竞争力的车队，人们对他的评价会高得多。他拥有那种驱动力和工程知识，能够把车队引向正确的方向——问题在于：车队会跟随他的领导吗？
威廉姆斯拥有塞恩斯和阿尔本两位好车手，所以如果下赛季依然缺乏竞争力，那就需要更深入地挖掘问题所在。
在所有因为2026年的失望而本可能最倾向于止损并跳槽的车手中，塞恩斯绝对是排在最前列的。
在威廉姆斯全力以赴提前投入新规则赛车设计之后，本赛季本应是它大放异彩的一个赛季。
因此，在拥有一辆迟到、超重且缺乏竞争力的赛车的情况下，这种挣扎的规模对于像 Sainz 这样水准的车手来说，尤其难以仅仅一笑置之、默默承受并希望车队挺过去。
他承诺留队，必须被视为两个因素结合的结果。
第一是 威廉姆斯 至少已经接受并承认了对事情不顺利的责任——并承诺做出必要的改变，以确保今年出现的错误不会再次发生。如果一味否认，并带着一堆借口盲目前行，那是不可接受的。
但还有一个因素是，外部选择对 Sainz 来说相当有限，他无法找到能在短期内保证更好的去处。
前四名车队看起来都已锁定——维斯塔潘确认留在红牛的消息应该很快就会公布——而即使是排名靠后的车队，秩序也不太可能被撼动。
小红牛（小红牛）是一个封闭的圈子。奥迪对霍肯伯格很满意。阿斯顿·马丁短期内仍是一场赌博，需要先弄清自己能取得多大进步。而阿尔派从来就不在考虑范围内。
就目前而言，威廉姆斯已经打消了塞恩斯认为别处草更绿（换个车队更好）的念头。但它知道，自己必须兑现进步的承诺。
尽管车队宣称塞恩斯的合同是多年合同，但现代合同中充满了各种选择条款——而且我们都知道，他的管理团队足够精明，不会不给自己留违约退路，以防顶级车队的空缺最终出现时可以脱身。
威廉姆斯为自己赢得了时间，James Vowles 和团队凭借有力的论证赢得了极高的赞誉，其中包括那些在2024年最初成功从奥迪和阿尔派的诱惑中争取到塞恩斯的论据。
但要说服阿尔本、尤其是塞恩斯在2027年之后继续留下，这场争夺战其实早已打响——届时可能比现在有更多诱人的选择可以转投他处。
塞恩斯已经承诺效力威廉姆斯，但这并不意味着在接下来的12个月里他不会密切关注竞争对手的动向。
我仍然认为，他是阿斯顿·马丁阿隆索的理想接班人，或者正是奥迪所需要的领军人物。
他在赛道外那种不懈的职业态度，至今仍深深留在老东家迈凯伦和法拉利的记忆中。
此外，他在赛道上还有着顽强的拼搏精神，这意味着奥斯卡·皮亚斯特里说的没错——塞恩斯即使为最后一名也会像争夺世界冠军一样战斗——只不过这种特质在99%的比赛中都是优点，也正是威廉姆斯能够保留这套远优于目前赛车的车手阵容、堪称一大胜利的原因。
我相信卡洛斯·塞恩斯的报酬一定非常丰厚，但这笔交易看起来对威廉姆斯的好处要远远大于对他本人。
这个赛季他有时可能稍微失宠于F1大众观众，但我仍然认为，他身上有实力可以为一家更有上升空间的车队提供价值。
威廉姆斯很可能在下赛季完成逆转、改变自己的命运——我们以前见过它做到过——但从今年的表现来看，它在成绩方面似乎并没有提供太多东西。
我很钦佩塞恩斯（Sainz）的信念，他相信自己能帮助车队重回更成功的道路，但我忍不住觉得，在未来几年某个重大多米诺骨牌不可避免地倒下时，他在车手市场上本会是一位引人注目的棋子。
英文原文
There's some good news for Williams to come out of its underwhelming 2026 Formula 1 season - as it's convinced Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon to stay with the team.
Those two deals, announced a day apart, involve Sainz agreeing to a new multi-year commitment, while with Albon The Race understands no new racing contract has been agreed - and that instead his 2027 confirmation relates to exit clauses that existed in the contract.
And that's pertinent in the context of this troubled Williams campaign. So were they right to stay? And was there ever a better option out there anyway?
Here's our reaction to those developments:
Williams has been fortunate here. There are still just a few too many question marks over the other midfield options, and too few signs of driver movement at them, to offer convincing exit routes for Albon and Sainz, and in that context it makes sense for them to still believe in all of the promise of the lead-up to 2026 over the absolutely terrible reality of their 2026.
Because the Williams arriving late, being slow and overweight, and not having much real hope of getting any quicker this year, could - and in some circumstances, should - have torpedoed the team's chances of keeping two drivers with so much to offer in F1, given its plan had been so clearly built around taking a big leap forward with the regulation change. Not a giant tumble backwards.
Anyone with a bit of F1 romance in them wants to see a Williams resurgence. It was painful to see this team at the bottom, and heartwarming to see it striding forwards again. This year is such a big misstep, just at the time its new era should have really started bearing fruit, that it goes into 2027 with a massive amount to prove to its fans and particularly its drivers.
I suppose the big question is where else could Sainz go? Yes, there is potentially Audi, but it is not really setting the world alight. Perhaps it's better the devil you know than jumping ship with no guarantees of any better success.
Sainz is at a time in his career where he will be thought a lot more of by staying put and doing the best he can to build Williams back into a competitive team. He has that drive and engineering knowledge to point it in the right direction - the question is: will it follow his lead?
Williams has two good drivers in Sainz and Albon, so if it is still uncompetitive next season then it needs to look deeper to find the problems.
Of all the drivers who would have been prime for cutting their losses and jumping ship off the back of 2026 disappointment, Sainz was right up there.
This season was supposed to be the big one for Williams after it threw everything at going early with its new-rules design.
So, the scale of its struggles, with a late, overweight and uncompetitive car, were particularly difficult for someone of Sainz's calibre to accept as something simply to smile at, endure and hope the team got through.
That he has committed to staying has to be seen as a marriage of two factors.
The first is that Williams has at least accepted and owned up to the responsibility of things not working - and committed to making necessary changes to ensure that what has gone wrong this year does not happen again. Being in denial, and ploughing on blindly with a bunch of excuses, would not have cut it.
But there is also an element that outside options were pretty limited for Sainz to get himself anywhere else that could be guaranteed to be better in the short term.
The top-four teams all look locked down - Max Verstappen's confirmation of remaining at Red Bull should be imminent - and even going down the order there is not much scope for a shake-up.
Racing Bulls is a closed shop. Audi is happy with Nico Hulkenberg. Aston Martin remains a gamble in the short term to work out how much progress it can make. And Alpine was never really on the radar.
For now, Williams has headed off Sainz's thoughts of the grass being greener anywhere else. But it knows that it needs to deliver on steps forward.
And while it has hailed Sainz's contract as multi-year, modern deals are full of options - and we know his management team is too smart to have given itself no break clauses that would prevent an escape route if some top-line vacancies do eventually open up.
Williams has bought itself time, and James Vowles and co deserve great credit for the strength of their arguments, including those that won Sainz from the temptation of Audi and Alpine in the first place in 2024.
But the race will already be on to convince Albon and particularly Sainz to stick around beyond 2027 - when there may be more tempting options to move elsewhere than there are presently.
Sainz has committed himself to Williams, but that doesn't mean he won't be spending some of the next 12 months keeping an eye on the competition.
I still see him as the ideal successor to Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin or the leader Audi needs.
He has a relentless off-track work ethic that still sticks in the minds of former employers McLaren and Ferrari.
Plus, he has the dogged on-track determination that means Oscar Piastri is right when he says Sainz fights for last place like the world championship - except that's a positive in 99% of races and exactly why it's such a win for Williams to retain a driver line-up that's far better than its current car.
I'm sure Carlos Sainz is being excellently reimbursed for his time but this is a deal that seems to be a lot more beneficial to Williams than to him.
He may have fallen slightly out of favour with the general F1 watching audience at times this season but I still think there's a driver in there who could offer a more upwardly mobile team something.
Williams may well complete a turnaround and change its fortunes next season - we've seen it do so before - but on this year's performances it doesn't appear to be offering much in terms of results.
I admire Sainz's conviction that he can help the team return to more successful ways but I can't help but feel he would have been an interesting player in the driver market when one of the BIG dominoes inevitably falls in the next few years.
The Race ·
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