Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz appears to have gone from courting offers from almost every team on the grid to wondering where he might end up next year.
When the news broke that he would be replaced by Lewis Hamilton in 2025, all eyes were on where the Spaniard might end up next.
In a YouTube video on The Race’s website, journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm has examined what next step the 29-year-old could take.
Carlos Sainz is one of four race winners this season and sits above Red Bull driver Sergio Perez in the Drivers’ Championship despite missing the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
However, he’s not in contention to drive for Red Bull next year despite outperforming the Mexican.
The next best available seat on the grid is arguably at Mercedes, but Carlos Sainz’s camp have been left unimpressed by the German manufacturer during talks.
They too appear to have moved on with youngster Andrea Kimi Antonelli set to be given every chance to prove he’s worthy of that seat.
It leaves the four-time race winner looking further down the paddock than many would have expected a couple of months ago.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height
Carlos Sainz’s camp left unimpressed by Mercedes during negotiations
Mercedes are in a tricky position this season, with the teams around them making big strides forward while they appear to stand still.
Although that’s not strictly true – upgrades delivered by Aston Martin and RB haven’t closed the gap – Ferrari and customer team McLaren have shown what’s possible in the battle to catch Red Bull.
They’ve fallen a long way since the years when Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas regularly dominated the Drivers’ Championship.
However, the offer Mercedes made to Carlos Sainz to potentially help them reach their potential in 2025 has left his camp wanting more.
Toto Wolff appears to be gambling on youth in Antonelli and George Russell leading the way next year and when the new regulations are introduced in 2026.
It’s a big call especially when someone of Sainz’s calibre is available to sign.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Mercedes AMG F1 Team from team principal to lineage
Mercedes gambling on Kimi Antonelli and George Russell
Speaking about Mercedes’s plans for next year, Mitchell-Malm said: “Mercedes stopped being a realistic option recently as well.
“Mercedes is very keen to promote its young Formula 2 protégé Kimi Antonelli straight into the works team next season.
“And as Antonelli is under contract, Mercedes does not need to stress making that decision.
“This means potentially waiting deeper into the year to commit and [Carlos] Sainz is quite rightly not willing to wait that long to find out if Mercedes has a place for him, especially as it would only be for one season because by then it’s highly likely his fallback options would all have disappeared too.
“We also learned recently that Mercedes outlook had gone down poorly within the Sainz family which felt that Carlos deserved to be taken more seriously as a prospect and a medium-to-long-term prospect at that, and not expected to just wait around.”
Which F1 team could Carlos Sainz sign for next season?
If Carlos Sainz’s camp has been left unimpressed by Mercedes, there’s another team that has surprised them with their proposal.
A few months ago, the idea of Sainz heading to Williams would have seemed very farfetched but that now looks like a serious possibility.
Audi are also among the teams who want to sign Sainz but he’s already missed one deadline to sign a contract with the German manufacturer.
Sainz will be on the grid next year and if he does head to a team further down the paddock then he will immediately lift their expectations.
The post ‘Gone down poorly’: Carlos Sainz’s camp unimpressed with eight-time champions outlook for 2025 – journalist appeared first on F1 Oversteer.