Ferrari exile Carlos Sainz has now missed out on a seat on the 2025 Formula 1 grid he and the Spaniard’s representatives thought there was ‘a chance’ that he could secure.
The Scuderia left Sainz to seek a new seat on the grid in February when Ferrari signed Lewis Hamilton up. Maranello chiefs gave the seven-time drivers’ champion a multi-year contract to leave Mercedes after the 2024 season. Hamilton will be the teammate of Charles Leclerc.
Sainz has been a Ferrari driver since he replaced Sebastian Vettel in the 2021 season after a two-year spell at McLaren. He is even the only non-Red Bull driver to win a Grand Prix since Georg Russell won the Mercedes driver’s only race so far at the 2022 Sao Paulo GP in Brazil.
Ferrari exile Carlos Sainz thought he could join Aston Martin
Ferrari have taken Sainz to all three of his Grand Prix victories to date at the 2022 British GP, the 2023 Singapore GP and the 2024 Australian GP, as well. Yet he is now toiling over finding a seat on the 2025 grid. And an option the Spaniard’s camp were hopeful for is off the table.
That is according to ESPN F1 journalist Nate Saunders, who reports that people ‘close’ to the Ferrari exile felt Sainz had a good chance at joining Aston Martin if Fernando Alonso left. But the 42-year-old has signed a new contract to stay put at the Silverstone team through 2026.
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Alonso was set to be out of contract at Aston Martin after the 2024 season. But he agreed to stay for at least another two years after the 2024 Japanese GP. Now, Saunders claims Sainz faces a ‘wide open’ situation, having seen his potential transfer to Aston Martin fall through.
“For Sainz, I think it’s pretty wide open,” Saunders noted on ESPN’s Unlapped podcast. “The options that he has left really don’t look that appealing.
“I thought Aston was a really strong choice. I spoke to people close to Carlos, and to Carlos himself in Japan, and Aston was one of the names they were [hinting], ‘Yeah, we think that there’s a chance there if Fernando doesn’t decide to stay’. Obviously, is that now out?”
Carlos Sainz could now snub Audi to join Williams in 2025
While a move to Aston Martin may be off the table for Sainz following Alonso signing his new contract, the Ferrari exile still has options. Lawrence Barretto has told The Race Podcast that Sainz could ‘gamble’ on joining Williams on a short-term deal over signing with Audi in 2025.
Williams are interested in Sainz but Audi are still striving to place the Spaniard at Sauber for the 2025 season. Audi want to have their own drivers in the Swiss squad before taking them over as a works entry in 2026. But the time it will take Audi to challenge might put Sainz off.
The post ‘People close to Carlos’: Sainz misses F1 seat Ferrari exile thought he could get – journalist appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
