After eight race weekends during the 2024 Formula 1 season, Carlos Sainz is still without a race seat for next season despite being one of just four Grand Prix winners this year.
Lewis Hamilton will be itching to get started at Ferrari considering the difficulties Mercedes are dealing with right now.
A report from Motorsport.com suggests that the options available to Carlos Sainz for 2025 have just narrowed even further.
Ferrari and McLaren were off the table immediately for Sainz next year and once Fernando Alonso signed a new deal at Aston Martin that shut off another avenue unless Lawrence Stroll decided to part ways with his son Lance.
Mercedes don’t appear keen on the Spaniard with Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli the two candidates to join George Russell next year.
Several teams further down the grid are keen on Sainz, but it’s now understood that he’s no longer a candidate for six-time Constructors’ Champions Red Bull next year.
It appears to be fantastic news for Sergio Perez despite his struggles over the past two race weekends.
All eyes are on where the 29-year-old will end up with two options currently on the table.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height
Carlos Sainz no longer a candidate for 2025 Red Bull seat
As soon as it emerged that Sainz would be leaving Ferrari at the end of the season, Red Bull seemed like the best alternative for the three-time race winner.
Sergio Perez’s contract runs out at the end of the year and despite finishing 2 in the Drivers’ Championship last year, team principal Christian Horner still wanted to see signs of improvement in 2024.
It appeared as though he had fixed those issues with three 2-place finishes in the first four races but as the likes of Ferrari and McLaren have closed the gap to Red Bull, Perez has been left behind.
Although the accident in Monaco wasn’t completely his fault, it was his poor performance on Saturday that caused him to be near the back of the pack in the first place.
However, the suggestion is that Perez is still the leading candidate to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull next year instead of Sainz.
There have been reports that the Dutchman wouldn’t be comfortable racing against someone as fast as Sainz as he wants to continue being the team’s clear number-one driver.
That leaves Sainz in an awkward position and with a 50/50 choice to make relatively soon.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links
Williams and Audi could be fighting for Carlos Sainz’s signature
The report from Motorsport.com suggests that sources with ‘good knowledge of the situation’ believe that Red Bull still think Perez is the best driver to partner Verstappen going forward.
They go on to say that Yuki Tsunoda, despite his brilliant start to the year with RB, is still not being considered while Daniel Ricciardo hasn’t made the expected impact at Red Bull’s sister team.
That leads the conversation to Carlos Sainz but despite the 29-year-old sitting ahead of Perez in the Drivers’ Championship after his 3-place finish in Monaco, Red Bull still don’t consider him a candidate for their second race seat.
Williams and Audi are the most likely destinations for Sainz with Red Bull no longer an option.
His management is said to be in serious negotiations with both teams and they’ll both want him to decide sooner rather than later.
Alongside Alex Albon at Williams, he would be competing against another former Red Bull driver who just scored his team’s first points of the season in Monte Carlo.
Sainz would have to endure a year at bottom team Sauber before Audi’s introduction to the sport in 2026.
Considering how long it may take for the German manufacturer to get up to speed, he may be better off joining James Vowles at Grove next year.
The post Report: Carlos Sainz now told by 6-time F1 champions that he’s ‘not a candidate’ for 2025 seat appeared first on F1 Oversteer.