When Carlos Sainz discovered that he would be losing his Ferrari seat next year, he would have immediately turned his attention to the fastest team in the paddock.
Red Bull have a decision to make on the future of Sergio Perez with his contract expiring at the end of the season but it appears as though the Mexican will be retained beyond this year.
Speaking on The Race’s YouTube channel, journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm was speaking about some of the reasons why Red Bull didn’t decide to move for Carlos Sainz including one aspect of a deal they won’t want to publicly admit.
In a head-to-head battle between Sainz and Perez, it’s hard to see the Spaniard not coming out on top in equal machinery.
In fact, the Spaniard is now ahead of the 34-year-old in the Drivers’ Championship despite missing the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to illness.
Unfortunately for Sainz, that might have counted against him in negotiations with Red Bull.
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Red Bull won’t publicly admit key reason for not signing Carlos Sainz
For the first time in years, Red Bull suddenly face a battle at the top of the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship.
Max Verstappen still has a 31-point gap over his closest rival – Charles Leclerc – but has only won one of the last three races.
The points difference between Red Bull and Ferrari in the team standings is even smaller, with Frederic Vasseur’s team now within a race win of the current champions.
That suddenly poses Christian Horner with a dilemma as Sergio Perez has only scored four points in the last two races.
It’s no longer a guarantee that Verstappen can win both championships for Red Bull singlehandedly.
Carlos Sainz provides Red Bull with the opportunity to sign a stronger driver in their second car but the team are unlikely to ever admit that that’s not actually what they want to do.
Instead, keeping their triple-world champion happy is the priority, especially with Mercedes keen to sign Verstappen.
They need Perez to up his game soon otherwise they’re going to be vulnerable to the teams behind them.
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Carlos Sainz unrest one reason for lack of 2025 Red Bull offer
Talking about why the 29-year-old wasn’t offered a contract by Red Bull, Mitchell-Malm said: “Unfortunately for [Carlos] Sainz, the competitive picture doesn’t trump Red Bull’s concern about the tensions that existed when he was teammates with [Max] Verstappen at Toro Rosso.
“Regardless of Sainz and Verstappen themselves getting on well, Red Bull doesn’t want their fathers in the same place again as that is where the primary Toro Rosso issues stemmed from.
“It also doesn’t help that Sainz is quick enough to make life a little too uncomfortable for Verstappen but Red Bull won’t publicly admit that.
“So, it’s a no from Red Bull.”
Which Formula 1 team could sign Carlos Sainz in 2025?
Carlos Sainz looks very unlikely to be at Red Bull in 2025 but several teams would admit that the Spaniard is at the top of their list of options for next year.
His two most likely destinations at this stage are Audi – currently Sauber – and Williams.
Audi have been chasing Sainz for months but he doesn’t appear keen to put pen to paper on a deal with the German manufacturer.
Sainz’s camp has been much more impressed with Williams and their plans for the future.
Williams are also keen on hiring Adrian Newey who will leave Red Bull at the start of next year and that would put them in a very strong position for the next regulations in 2026 alongside having Mercedes power units.
The post ‘It’s a no’: Journalist shares what Red Bull won’t ‘publicly admit’ as main reason for not hiring Carlos Sainz appeared first on F1 Oversteer.