Jeroen Bleekemolen believes there is one Formula 1 driver who Carlos Sainz ‘would rather not’ be teammates with in 2025 as the Ferrari exile chases a seat on the grid.
The Scuderia left Sainz to find a new team in February after Ferrari signed Lewis Hamilton to a multi-year contract. Hamilton will quit Mercedes after the 2024 season to race in red with Charles Leclerc next year. But Sainz is still to seal his next Formula 1 drive amid vast interest.
Teams up and down the grid have shown interest in signing Sainz for next year with several seats potentially available. More than half of the current grid are out of contract after 2024, including a possible vacancy at Red Bull through Sergio Perez, on top of Mercedes’ opening.
Carlos Sainz has interest from Red Bull, Audi, Aston Martin and Williams for 2025
Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll is interested in Sainz joining Aston Martin in 2025 with the 29-year-old available, according to Lawrence Barretto. Additionally, Williams are in the mix for his signature and also opened talks with Sainz’s management about joining in 2023.
Williams moved early to show their interest with Ferrari yet to commit to giving Sainz a new contract for 2025. But the Grove squad would now have to fight interest from Audi, as they look to place Sainz at Sauber ahead of taking over the Swiss squad as a works team in 2026.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height
Edd Straw of The Race also reports that Red Bull are tracking Sainz to possibly replace Perez in 2025. Team principal Christian Horner is driving the pursuit in Sainz and is also a bit more keen than Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko is to reunite him with Max Verstappen.
Jeroen Bleekemolen doubts Carlos Sainz would want to be Max Verstappen’s teammate
Bleekemolen, who won the LMP2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Jos Verstappen in 2008, also doubts Sainz would want to join Verstappen at Red Bull. They were teammates with Toro Rosso as rookies in 2015. But Marko has stated their relationship was ‘quite toxic’.
Sainz has since raced with Renault, McLaren and, now, Ferrari after Red Bull overlooked him to promote Verstappen. Bleekemolen also claims the Spaniard has proven he merits a ‘top’ F1 drive having bounced back from being dropped by Ferrari to win the 2024 Australian GP.
“The pressure is now gone and he has shown that he belongs in a top car,” Bleekemolen told the Paddockpraat podcast. He added: “As a driver, you want to choose the best car.
“But you don’t actually want to sit next to Max. And even though Sainz is now bursting with self-confidence, I think he would also rather not sit next to Max.”
Verstappen and Sainz both made their Formula 1 debuts at the 2015 Australian GP and have both entered 188 Grand Prix so far. But Red Bull favouring the Dutchman over the Spaniard in 2016 has seen Verstappen take 56 wins and three titles to Sainz’s five Grand Prix wins yet.
The post ‘Don’t actually want to’: Ferrari exile Sainz fears joining 188-race F1 driver, says pundit appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
