Sauber have already signed Nico Hulkenberg from Haas for the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season ahead of Audi’s takeover of the team.
All eyes are on who Andreas Seidl’s team will place alongside the German next year as options in the driver’s market begin to disappear.
Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, former Haas boss Guenther Steiner has been discussing their potential alternatives.
The Audi seat has been spoken about as the most lucrative available drive in Formula 1 for next year aside from replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
Kimi Antonelli is being lined up for that role, but with every passing race, drivers will be questioning whether the pain of driving for a suffering Sauber team is worth the gamble of joining the German works team in 2026.
Steiner now believes that the best driver Audi can attract to the team out of the possible options on the grid is Carlos Sainz.
The Spaniard has a contract offer on the table from the team but he’s delaying making a final decision.
It’s one of the reasons why the shortlist of options Audi are considering is growing every week.
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Guenther Steiner thinks Carlos Sainz is the best driver Audi can sign for 2025
Sauber are currently the worst team on the Formula 1 grid and under any other circumstance would be the last manufacturer to get their choice of available drivers on the grid.
It appears as though current drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu are not being considered for the one available seat alongside Hulkenberg.
That means another driver currently on the grid will be joining Sauber next year with young driver and current F2 champion Theo Pourchaire not on the team’s radar.
Carlos Sainz has been Audi’s top target for months and Steiner thinks he’s the best available driver that they could potentially sign.
But they’ve reached an impasse with Sainz holding on to see whether he can replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull.
Audi won’t wait forever and if they end up moving on then Williams think they have a chance to poach Sainz.
It would be a huge coup for James Vowles’s team but there are too many moving parts in the driver’s market for that to be considered a real possibility at this stage.
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Audi hoping for quick answer from Carlos Sainz
Host Brian Muller was talking about Audi and he and Steiner were discussing what the former Haas boss would do if he was team principal there.
Muller said: “There’s this whole situation there, they’ve offered Carlos Sainz a ton of money.
“He seemingly like no, he’s holding out for something better. But, if you want to get a top driver, you have some means, how do you pitch someone?”
Steiner: “I think Audi at the moment, is the best driver they can get which would go there because you have to be realistic, let’s be honest.
“Audi, the best they can get is Carlos [Sainz] because nobody else, Max [Verstappen] will not go there, Lewis [Hamilton has just signed [for Ferrari], he will not go there.
“I don’t think anybody else better than Carlos would go to Audi, to be honest. So, you cannot force Carlos to go there because obviously, Carlos is just waiting to see what is happening at Red Bull and what is happening at Mercedes.
“I think it is very clear the picture of what is going on there. So, I think if Mercedes gives him a deal, I think he’s tempted, even if Mercedes is not doing very well at the moment.”
Which F1 drivers are Audi considering signing for 2025?
Steiner’s suggestion that Sainz is the best driver Audi can potentially sign may be true, but they need to prepare in case the Spaniard ends up accepting an offer from elsewhere.
Sebastian Vettel is reportedly interested in joining Audi and creating an all-German driver partnership next season.
The team are also big fans of Yuki Tsunoda who is having his best season in Formula 1 with Visa Cash App RB.
Ralf Schumacher would like to see his nephew Mick join Audi while Alpine pair Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly are also under consideration.
The post ‘Let’s be honest’: Guenther Steiner says five-pole F1 star is the best driver Audi can sign next year appeared first on F1 Oversteer.