Formula 1 journalist and broadcaster Will Buxton has shared which team he thinks Carlos Sainz will be driving for when he leaves Ferrari for the 2025 season.
The Ferrari driver’s future is the talk of the paddock after a brilliant start to this season.
Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, Buxton explained where he thinks the 29-year-old will end up at the end of the current campaign.
Will Buxton shares Carlos Sainz 2025 prediction
Very few people would have seen Carlos Sainz being the first driver on the grid to lose his seat this season.
He didn’t even have a chance to show how fast he could be in the SF-24 with Lewis Hamilton confirmed as his replacement a month before the campaign even began.
Hamilton will already be encouraged by his decision given the difference in speed between this year’s Mercedes and Ferrari.
The Silver Arrows are having simulator issues that seem to have limited their progression while Ferrari suddenly look like they could challenge current champions Red Bull.
Carlos Sainz will know he has to take full advantage of the next 21 races.
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Not only does he suddenly have a chance to potentially challenge for a world championship, but he’ll also be trying to impress as many teams up and down the grid as possible.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner singled him out for praise after the race in Melbourne.
He’s been linked with a move to the Austrian outfit as Sergio Perez enters the final year of his contract.
However, Will Buxton believes that Sainz will be driving elsewhere in 2025.
The Spaniard might be getting ready for a longer-term project which could really pay off with major regulation changes on the horizon in 2026.
Carlos Sainz a key figure in F1 driver market
Talking about the three-time winner’s future, Buxton said: “But the question mark for me now is where does Carlos [Sainz] go?
“And there are either a myriad of options or there’s like two.”
Asked if he had a gun to his head, where he thinks Sainz will go, Buxton answered: “Gun to my head, right now, if it’s a gun to my head I’d say Sauber.”
Aston Martin are believed to be interested in signing Sainz, but that relies on Fernando Alonso moving on.
Mercedes would also be a potential option, but they’re looking elsewhere right now.
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Carlos Sainz could take Sauber gamble before Audi introduction
A move to Sauber in 2025 as Buxton predicts might not seem particularly appealing to Sainz right now.
While the Spaniard was driving off into the distance after Max Verstappen’s technical issue in Melbourne, Valtteri Bottas was sitting in the pit lane enduring yet another tortuous stop.
Sauber are yet to score a point this season, but there’s a reason Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu want to sign new contracts with the team.
In 2026 when Formula 1’s regulations change, Sauber will be under the complete control of Audi.
The German manufacturer will be the newest works team on the grid and although they’ll be an unknown quantity in F1, their reputation in motorsport is extremely high.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how the Formula 1 driver’s market shakes out over the next few months.
Carlos Sainz is almost guaranteed to be at the centre of all the action.
The post ‘Right now’: Will Buxton shares which Formula 1 team he thinks Carlos Sainz will be driving for in 2025 appeared first on F1 Oversteer.