Sainz market center
In a couple of weeks the future of Carlos Sainz it could be clearer. The Ferrari Spaniard, fresh winner of the Australian GP, is the prized piece on the pilot market. The combination of his non-renewal with Maranello and his latest – excellent – performances make him currently the most attractive name on the grid ahead of the 2025 season. The Madrilenian is in fact the main domino of all the other seats, with the only crazy variable represented by the possible sensational farewell of Max Verstappen to Red Bull. But if the possible exit from the Dutch champion's contract is yet to be concretely verified, Sainz's availability as a free agent is certain and immediate.
Many top candidates and the Audi option
It's no coincidence that #55 is alongside all the main teams of the grill, from Red Bull (as Perez's heir whose contract expires), to Mercedes (as Hamilton's heir), untilAston Martin (in the case of non-renewal of compatriot Fernando Alonso). But Audi is also betting heavily on Sainzwhich as known will officially debut in F1 in 2026.
The house of the Rings would like to define its pair of drivers as early as next year, so as to start 'preparing' the ground for its first 'effective' season in advance. The links between Sainz and the Sauber-Audi project are many: first of all the relationship between father Carlos Sr. and the Ingolstadt company, with which the two-time world rally champion won the Dakar this year. Then to Filling the role of CEO of Sauber is Andreas Seidl, who was McLaren team principal during Sainz's tenure at the Woking team.
Seidl's ultimatum: decision within two weeks
Seidl himself would be very interested in securing Sainz's services for 2025. However, according to his country's media, the German manager would rush to define the future of the team at line-up level and would set for mid-April a deadline within which Sainz would have to decide whether to be in or out of the project. “Seidl wants certainties in the planning phase“, underlined the newspaper Bild. The site too Auto Motor und Sport he indicated how in Hinwil expect a response from Sainz within two weeks. Alongside the current Ferrari representative, Audi would like to field the German Nico Hulkenberg, whose contract expires at the end of 2024 with Haas. If the Spaniard is not convinced by the Audi project – which will probably need a few seasons to become successful – he will still be able to look elsewhere, confident that he will still find numerous open doors in top-tier teams.
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