-
Laurence Edmondson, F1 Editor
Out-of-contract Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz is confident his “best options are still open” for 2025, despite news last week that Aston Martin has signed Fernando Alonso for another two years.
Sainz, who is the only driver other than Max Verstappen to win a race this year, will be replaced at Ferrari at the end of the season when seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton moves to the team from Mercedes.
Speculation had linked him with a move to Aston Martin in 2025, but that was before Alonso, 42, agreed to continue at the team for another two years.
Alonso’s new contract effectively takes the team off the table for Sainz as the second seat is currently occupied by Lance Stroll, the son of the team’s owner Lawrence.
Mercedes and Red Bull still only have one driver contracted for 2025 and remain possible destinations for Sainz, while the 29-year-old has also been linked to Sauber, which is due to receive significant investment over coming years as German car manufacturer Audi takes ownership of the team and uses it to enter F1 in 2026.
Sainz revealed on Thursday ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix that he has talked to “every team” about 2025, but said he would not rush into a decision.
“I think for sure all my best options are still open, and that is a positive thing and something that requires a bit of time given the situation in the market,” Sainz told reporters. “It’s going to take some time for everyone to make their own minds and their decisions, but the good options are still open.
“There hasn’t been much progress over the last two weeks, so there isn’t much to update you on. The sooner it gets to a point where everything develops the better, because at the same time it’s not like it’s affecting my performances at all this year, but it’s better you take it out of your head and the earlier the better.
“It requires time and some decision making, so as I said last week, it’s time to let that happen and see how things progress.”
As the only two teams to win world championships in the last 14 years, Red Bull and Mercedes represent Sainz’s fastest route to success on track, but he indicated that he is waiting on decisions from those teams before making his own mind up.
“When I said we’ve been talking to every team, I think you can understand that we have been talking to every team, which means every team,” Sainz added. “So that’s what I meant when I said the good options in terms of race-winning front cars are still there, and as I said, it all depends on the compromises of the offers and what everyone offers.
“There are very good options out there, which makes me still smile and be positive about my future. At the same time, I know that some of those options don’t fully depend on me, like I said before, it depends on other people making decisions, which means I need to wait and keep doing what I’m doing, and hopefully things will be decided sooner rather than later. If it’s later and it’s still good, I’ll be happy to wait.”
In recent weeks, reigning champion Max Verstappen has moved to dampen speculation he might leave Red Bull at the end of this year, while his teammate Sergio Perez is looking increasingly likely to sign a new deal before his current one expires at the end of the season.
On Thursday, Perez told reporters he expects to retain his Red Bull drive in 2025.
“The priority is to remain here for the future,” he said. “That’s something that I think is just a matter of time. The most important for now is to perform on the track and focus on the current season and when we have some news we will share with you.
“It’s about how we both see the future together, and obviously if you as a team and a driver you have the same target in mind, the same common target, it is all very easy. Especially after so many years, we have been doing it for four years, so I do expect that everything will be quite easy going forward.”
If Perez and Verstappen remain at Red Bull, that would leave Mercedes as the next most competitive team available to Sainz. However, the former championship-winning team is assessing the possibility of replacing Hamilton with its junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli next year, who currently races in Formula Two and completed his first private F1 test with Mercedes earlier this week.
If Antonelli gets the Mercedes drive, Sainz would then have his options limited to teams that represent a longer-term route to success, such as the Sauber/Audi project.
“As a driver, I am always going to try to look for the fastest option, especially given the form I’m in, given the right car and the right year, I can win races and be on the podium,” Sainz said. “That is my number one priority, to win, and this will be something that I will always look for.
“But for sure there are some very interesting medium- and long-term options out there that I will consider, so every option has its pluses and minuses, and I will consider all of them. But like I said earlier, the best thing is that all the good options are still there.”
Source: www.espn.com