“It’s Not Easy”: Carlos Sainz Shares a Checklist of What He’s Looking For

The 2024 season is past its midpoint with 13 races done. Still, there is uncertainty surrounding Carlos Sainz’s future in the sport. The outgoing Ferrari man is yet to decide on what offer to accept from the plethora of options he has. However, as he deliberates further, Sainz has at least given a checklist of things he’s weighing in his decision.

In a recent conversation with GQ, his future was discussed in depth. After making no headway in finding out the Spaniard’s possible destination during the conversation, the interviewer changed his line of questioning. Instead of an outright answer, he was asked what he was looking for in his future team. This is when Sainz gave his checklist.

“Having a competitive car as soon as possible and finding a project that gives me the stability and motivation to see that it has the potential to lead that team to become world champions one day”, the 29-year-old said.

Sainz stated that he is “trying to find the balance between the best of both things and that is why it is not easy” for him to finalize a team. The Spaniard reiterated the importance of this decision for his future, given he is entering his 30s soon, and thus, wants to have the best deal for his career trajectory.

Carlos about what the future holds:

“Yeah, for sure it hasn’t been easy to do a whole first half of the season without knowing where you gonna be racing next year.”#CarlosSainz | #HungarianGP
pic.twitter.com/hqweGFPwBu

— Carlos Sainz News (@CSainzNews_) July 18, 2024

Currently, six teams have one vacant seat each. However, this is a low number compared to the start of 2024 as many teams have secured extensions with one of their drivers or signed another driver for 2025. Meanwhile, Sainz is running out of options, but he can’t be forced into a commitment. Currently, going by his comments, there is no certainty of where he’ll land in 2025.

Sainz gives no hint on his possible future destination for 2025

To coax an answer out of Sainz, the interviewer highlighted he’s been part of several legendary teams since his debut. However, the 29-year-old has yet to share some history with the famed Williams brand in F1. To this, he laughingly agreed and mentioned a couple more names but still maintained his oblivious stance.

He said, “Williams is a team that, as you say, is super-emblematic in Formula 1. Yes, it is one of the few that I have left, Red Bull Racing too, Mercedes too, there are two or three teams that I have not yet been to that I might go to in the future, I don’t know when, to be honest, because the future still seems to be quite uncertain, not even I know, to give you an idea”.

Even if Sainz has made up his mind, it’s a tightly guarded secret. With the sport heading to the summer break, there’s a possibility that he may reveal his decision soon.