Carlos Sainz’s choices to discover a seat on the System 1 grid for 2025 are narrowing.
The Spaniard is being changed at Ferrari by Lewis Hamilton subsequent season.
Crimson Bull has re-signed Sergio Perez to a two-year contract extension, and the three-time world champion Max Verstappen will probably stay with the workforce. Sainz had been ready for a seat to open up at Crimson Bull, however that’s now a distant risk for subsequent season.
Mercedes is looking for Hamilton’s alternative and is lining up their Italian protégé, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. He’s enterprise an intensive F1 testing program alongside racing in FIA System 2.
Sainz has been desirous to safe a brand new contract shortly, whereas Mercedes is comfortable to attend till a lot later this 12 months to advertise Antonelli. This distinction in urgency would not make the German workforce a sensible possibility for Sainz to associate with George Russell in 2025.
Sainz does have choices additional down the grid, though each are unlikely to supply the 29-year-old a race-winning automotive within the quick time period earlier than F1 ushers in new rules in 2026.
Williams and Sauber stay on the desk, with each groups probably having vacancies on the season’s finish.
American driver Logan Sargeant continues to wrestle at Williams and has been publicly pressured by Group Principal James Vowles.
For Williams, Sainz would symbolize an skilled driver to guide them into the brand new guidelines in 2026 alongside Alex Albon, who has drastically improved over his F1 profession.
Sainz’s different possibility, Sauber, can be comparatively unattractive based mostly on their efficiency this season.
This Swiss workforce suffered a scarcity of uncooked pace in Monaco and stays final within the Constructors’ Championship, the one workforce but to attain a degree this 12 months.
Regardless of their poor type, Sauber will probably be taken over by Audi in 2026 forward of System 1’s new engine guidelines.
The automotive big has already signed German driver Nico Hulkenberg for subsequent season, that means certainly one of Valtteri Bottas or Zhou Guanyu will go away the workforce.
Little is understood about Audi’s mission, and there’s no assure that the workforce will hit the bottom working when it joins the grid.
The uncertainty of a brand new engine producer might push Sainz in the direction of Williams, who has the steadiness of Mercedes’ energy.
At 29, Sainz can’t take a short-term view of his subsequent transfer, as a flawed determination could also be tough to get better from.
