Carlos Sainz has the world of Formula 1 at his feet, but it appears as though Audi won’t be his next destination with his contract offer now reportedly expired.
The Spaniard will be leaving Ferrari at the end of 2024 despite being the driver who ended Max Verstappen’s winning streak in Australia earlier this season.
Spanish journalist Antonio Lobato has posted on social media and provided more details about Sainz’s next steps.
The 29-year-old has seen Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg sign contracts for 2025 and beyond.
It leaves just half of the seats on the grid unoccupied and options beginning to run out if he wants to continue competing for podiums and race wins.
Audi have made it clear that they would love to sign Carlos Sainz.
So much so, that Red Bull chief Helmut Marko suggested that they have made an offer that they can’t even match.
However, the offer from Audi to Sainz has now reportedly expired and which means he must have his eye on another option.
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Audi’s 2025 offer to Carlos Sainz has now expired
Earlier this month, it was reported that Audi were demanding a quick answer from Sainz with 2025 in mind.
Carlos Sainz was then presented with an ultimatum by the German outfit to either commit to the project or move on.
It looks like Sainz has decided to pass on joining Audi next year with the contract offer having now expired.
It’s a surprise to see Audi trying to push so hard to sign up their two drivers so early in the season.
While they face a lot of competition from other teams in the bottom half of the grid, Audi is the most interesting proposal at this stage.
They’ve got a fantastic reputation in other series and while it might take them some time to adapt to Formula 1, it’s easy to see why they might be more appealing than joining Williams or Alpine.
However, Sainz appears to have turned down the chance to join Audi and with an expired contract now sitting in front of him, he must be confident that he’s got a move wrapped up elsewhere.
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Carlos Sainz not willing to wait for Audi success beyond 2025
Posting on X, Lobato said: “On the driver market… Sauber/Audi will soon announce who will drive with Hulkenberg from 2025 onwards.
“I don’t know @Carlossainz55 because he decided not to accept the offer and miss the deadline he had to reply.
“Accepting it would have given him peace of mind, as well as a good financial offer, but he preferred to take the risk to see if he could find a place in a more competitive team.
“Main options: Red Bull if there is movement (there seems to be) and Mercedes. They are talking, but there is nothing yet. Mercedes wants Verstappen, who is undoubtedly the key piece of the puzzle.”
While Sainz’s first offer from Audi might have now expired, there’s nothing stopping them from coming in for him again later in the year and it would be a surprise if they didn’t.
However, it means that Sainz might now be more confident that he could potentially be to joining Mercedes with so few other options on the table.
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Red Bull have a keen interest in Sainz if they no longer believe in Sergio Perez, although the Mexican is currently delivering, while Max Verstappen looks no closer to leaving Red Bull at this stage.
While a contract hasn’t been agreed yet, with so many other issues existing for Christian Horner’s team now, especially after Adrian Newey confirmed his imminent exit, he won’t want too much more disruption.
This means Mercedes might be the best choice for Sainz at this stage, but there are some issues with this, primarily that Mercedes aren’t exactly thriving right now.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are having a tough time and the seven-time world champion’s Sprint Race podium in China was the exception rather than the rule in terms of their results in 2024.
There is also a risk that if Sainz joins Mercedes for 2025, he’ll only be a stop-gap before Kimi Antonelli is brought him.
If Sainz thinks he can jump ahead of Russell in Toto Wolff’s thinking before that happens then he should go for it.
Otherwise, a short stay at Mercedes may make sense if he thinks Audi will be ready to match his ambitions once that Wolff wants Antonelli in the team and he can finally join the team that have delivered his father so much success.
The post 'He decided': Carlos Sainz now makes Audi decision with 2025 F1 future hanging in the balance - journalist appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
