After months of speculations, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz finally discovered that his push to join Red Bull had ended in failure.
Despite a disappointing run of form, Red Bull decided to continue with Sergio Perez and handed the 34-year-old a contract running until the end of 2026.
Sky Sports F1 journalist Craig Slater shared where he heard was now Carlos Sainz’s most likely destination for the 2025 season.
Unsurprisingly, the 29-year-old driver still has plenty of options on the table for next year.
He’s the strongest free agent on the grid and although he’s going to have to head to the other end of the paddock from his current Ferrari garage, he could make all the difference in the tight battle for points among those manufacturers.
Slater has now shared that ‘well-placed people’ believe Sainz’s most attractive proposition for next season is the offer coming from Williams.
Team principal James Vowles already has Alex Albon signed up to the end of the 2026 campaign and is making sweeping changes to improve the team behind the scenes.
If he can convince Sainz to join the team, the Grove-based outfit will be in a position to kick on and look up the team standings.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height
Well-placed people believe Carlos Sainz’s most attractive option for 2025 is Williams
The two drivers a team employs rarely make a huge difference in the development of a team, but they can quickly hamper any progress being made.
Too often teams further down the grid have to employ a driver who may bring more financially to the team than they do on the track.
That happens less and less in Formula 1 these days considering how much money is now entering the sport through sponsorship.
However, for Williams, it’s hard to argue that they’re currently getting the most out of the car by partnering Alex Albon with Logan Sargeant.
The American has never finished a race in the top ten during his F1 career, although he was promoted into the points at his home race in Austin in 2023 after Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified.
Understandably, Williams are assessing their options for next year and Sainz appears to be at the top of their list.
Sainz’s camp have been impressed with Williams in talks and a satisfactory contract offer has reportedly already been made to Sainz.
It now looks like the Williams package the most enticing for Sainz and with Perez’s future set in stone, the Spaniard has little reason to delay confirming his plans for next year.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Williams Racing from team principal to Mercedes relationship
Craig Slater shares his latest information on Carlos Sainz
Asked what’s coming next in the F1 driver’s market, Slater said: “Well, the big question is what does Carlos Sainz do now?
“I think he’s known for maybe for at least a week or two that this seat wasn’t available to him.
“He has the choice of being the lead driver in Audi’s entry in Formula 1, this is currently the team known as Sauber but it’s going to be a big works team for the Volkswagen Group or Williams.
“Now, Williams hadn’t been linked with him so much until about the last two or three weeks, but actually some well-placed people are telling me that that team seems a more attractive proposition to him right now than this Sauber prospect.
“It’s well led with James Vowles, it has Mercedes engines in the car from 2026.
“Sainz has had the experience of going to a manufacturer and it not working out too well, so let’s see.
“There’s no reason now for him to delay his decision, you would think we’ll get that soon.”
Which other teams want to sign Carlos Sainz?
Sainz is running out of options for 2025 and despite Eddie Jordan wanting to see him join Aston Martin, it’s hard to see Lawrence Stroll dropping his son Lance for next year.
Mercedes appear to have no interest in Sainz with Kimi Antonelli set to be Toto Wolff’s first choice unless he can somehow convince Max Verstappen to leave Red Bull.
As Slater has explained, Audi is still an option for Sainz although, after missing one contract deadline, he doesn’t appear to be particularly excited about joining the German manufacturer.
Alpine and Haas wouldn’t turn down Sainz if he approached them but at this stage, neither outfit seem to be on his radar.
Sainz is going to join a fifth different F1 team in 2025 and it looks likely at this stage that he’s heading to Grove.
The post ‘Telling me’: Sky journalist shares what 'well-placed people’ are now saying about Carlos Sainz's F1 future appeared first on F1 Oversteer.