It was in December when the Ferrari leadership, headed by boss Fred Vasseur, slowed down the negotiations for the renewal of Carlos Sainz. Until then, the Spaniard saw his future clearly: he expected to sign before the presentation of the Scuderia in Maranello on February 13. Since then he sensed that something was happening, maybe he would have to change his scene.. The officialization this Thursday of the signing of Lewis Hamilton for the team clarified the horizon and placed Sainz facing a new tomorrow.
“We will announce news about my future in due time,” the driver wrote in a statement, although this news is not expected to arrive before the start of the World Championship on March 2 in Bahrain.. In fact, until then, he will barely make any statements, only at the upcoming presentation and for Ferrari channels.. Sainz must now focus on finding a midfielder for 2025. And the task is not easy, although it can be beneficial in the long term.. In addition to him, eleven pilots are out of contract at the end of 2024 and there are many options open.
Audi
One of those options is Sauber, now Stake, which has not yet confirmed its two current drivers, Valterri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou.. Penultimate team on the grid this season, at first it might seem like a bad start, but it is not.. In 2026, when the Formula 1 regulations change, Sauber will become Audi and the German brand has promised a multimillion-dollar investment. It could be the team that dominates the new era. With Andreas Seidl as boss, an engineer who already met Sainz at McLaren, the Spaniard also has a family relationship: his father is already an Audi driver and with them he won the Dakar a few weeks ago.
The risk is in the novelty. As a new team, Audi can be a revelation, but it can also be a troupe and, in addition, Sainz should suffer for an entire year, 2025, in the last positions on the grid. At 30 years old, in full maturity, it would be an expensive price to pay, although it could be worth it.
Mercedes
Another, more pragmatic option would be to negotiate with Mercedes. The German team now suffers from the void left by Hamilton and does not have a clear replacement. The pearl of their quarry is the Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who will debut in Formula 2 next year, but he is still too young. If he jumped to Mercedes, Sainz would find himself in a position similar to the one he currently has at Ferrari: in a historic team with a huge budget, competing for podiums behind Red Bull and with a teammate protected by the bosses, in this case George Russell.
Not so long ago, in 2021, Mercedes won the World Cup, so they could do it again in the more or less near future. If perhaps your problem is the competition there will be to grab that steering wheel: Jenson Button this Friday even proclaimed Fernando Alonso as the main driver.
Aston Martin
And precisely Alonso’s team, Aston Martin, would be the third best option for Sainz. After the Spaniard came close to victory in Monaco or Canada in 2023, the evolution of the team is beyond doubt and this 2024 should continue to improve. But getting a position will be difficult. Despite his 42 years, if Alonso wants to continue in green no one will move him and his partner, Lance Stroll, is the owner’s son. Sainz depends on the progress of one of the two.
Audi, Mercedes, and Aston Martin are your three clearest options now, although there are more. Given the departure of Checo Pérez from Red Bull, the Spaniard could choose to take his position despite the competition from Daniel Ricciardo, who seems to be the chosen one, and another possibility is to take a step back in the World Cup. Alpine, Williams, Haas, or RB, the new name of Red Bull’s second team, will be cards to play if everything else doesn’t work out.