Carlos Sainz has been on Red Bull’s radar ever since his heroics at the Australian GP. Although many experts don’t deem the Spaniard to be a good fit for Red Bull, Helmut Marko did confirm that his side reached out to the 29-year-old about a potential seat. However, Sainz is unlikely to move to Milton Keynes because he reportedly has a very lucrative offer from Sauber, which will become the Audi works team in 2026.
Dutch journalist Erik van Haren revealed the same, according to @RBR_Daily on Twitter (now X). With Sergio Perez’s contract up for renewal, there have been multiple suitors in line to take up the Mexican’s seat in 2025.
Sainz is the latest one of those and perhaps one of the best alternatives for Red Bull, just in case Perez’s form falters again. However, multiple factors may keep the three-time race winner away from joining back the Red Bull stable.
Having driven for Toro Rosso from 2015 to 2017, Sainz did not have the greatest of time at Milton Keynes. Max Verstappen beat him convincingly in their debut year in ’15. Post that, Verstappen received the Red Bull promotion. Meanwhile, Sainz struggled and eventually left the Red Bull family to get a better drive elsewhere.
In his current situation, the Spaniard would want to be a lead driver. Given how Verstappen has become Red Bull’s top driver, it seems unlikely that the Austrian team would let Sainz supersede him.
Besides, Audi is the team that seems to be giving Sainz this lead driver role, which is quite encouraging for any driver entering their 30s. Moreover, the way the driver market is shaping up, Audi seems to be Sainz’s only viable option if he doesn’t want to return in Red Bull colors.
What happened to the Carlos Sainz-Mercedes links?
There were reports that Carlos Sainz was close to signing a contract with Mercedes. However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is not willing to rush his decision on selecting Lewis Hamilton’s replacement so soon. Furthermore, even Sainz has got the advice to keep his options open and not make a decision so soon on his F1 future.
Additionally, Wolff has been very keen to promote their Academy driver, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Although the Austrian is keen to give Antonelli a chance, he has made it clear that he and the rest of the Mercedes team will closely monitor the 17-year-old’s progress in F2 this season before they take a call on whether they want to promote him or not.
If Mercedes decide against promoting Antonelli, then Sainz could come into the picture for Wolff and Co. Unlike Fernando Alonso, the 29-year-old can be a great medium-term option alongside George Russell.
For now, there are only rumors about talks and reported offers for Sainz from Red Bull, Mercedes, and Audi. As of yet, neither the Spaniard nor any of these teams have made a concrete statement about their intention to sign the Ferrari driver.
