by VALERIO BARRETTA
Sainz in the center of the market
With the great performances at the beginning of 2024 and the renewal of Fernando Alonso in Aston Martin, the object of the number one desire of every Formula 1 team is Carlos Sainz. The Ferrari driver, who will make room for Lewis Hamilton in Maranello next season, is looking for a competitive team. And indeed there are attractive options. One is the Red Bullbut clearly it would be much more credible in the event of Max Verstappen’s surprise departure in direction Mercedes. If the world champion remained in Milton Keynes, the preferable option for Sainz would be the Brackley team.
Sainz’s words
Sainz himself stated that “the best options” are still available for 2025. Therefore Aston Martin was not included among these options. Or, at least, going to Stroll’s court, for Sainz, would have been a worse scenario than a ride in Mercedes: “It will take some time for everyone to make their own decisions, but the best options are still open“, these were his words at a press conference in Shanghai. “There hasn’t been much progress in the last couple of weeks, so there’s not much to update you on. The sooner we get to a point where everything develops the better, but at the same time it’s not affecting my performance this year“.
“We talked to all the teams, which means all the teams. This is what I meant when I said that the good options in terms of race-winning cars are still there and, as I said, it all depends on what each one offers. There are great options, which makes me smile and feel positive about my future. At the same time, I know that some of these options are not completely up to me, as I said before, it depends on other people’s decisions, which means I have to wait and keep doing what I’m doing, hoping that things will be decided sooner or later. If it’s later and things are still good, I’ll be happy to wait“.
The Sauber hypothesis
Winning machines, therefore. Which Sauber is not currently. The attractiveness of the Swiss team, however, is entirely due to Audi, which will take over in 2026 and – as confirmed by Helmut Marko – would be ready to shower Sainz with gold. For Audi the Ferrari driver could make an exception. Without clearly naming her, he talks about medium and long-term projects that could interest him: “As a rider, I will always look for the fastest option, especially given the shape I’m in. With the right car and the right year, I can win races and get on the podium. That’s my number one priority: winning, and that’s something I’ll always try to do. But there are certainly very interesting medium and long term options that I will consider. Each option has its advantages and disadvantages and I will consider them all. But as I said before, the best thing is that all the good options are still there.”.
