Carlos Sainz is playing a dangerous game by stringing multiple F1 teams along

Carlos Sainz was arguably the biggest loser on the F1 grid when Lewis Hamilton announced he was moving to Ferrari in 2025. Overnight, the Spaniard's future was turned upside down, as he now had to find something completely different from what he had hoped for.

The news had come out before a single race of the 2024 season had been run. Since then, Sainz has been one of the most hotly debated candidates in the driver market. His name has been linked with Audi, Red Bull, Mercedes, Williams, and most recently Alpine. That's 50% of the grid, by the way, that the Spaniard may have had a coffee with.

There have been reports that Sainz had already signed a contract with Williams just before the F1 Spanish GP. James Vowles had put out a very impassioned public pitch to the Spaniard at the time to bring him on board.

It's been a while since that happened, and at this stage, Sainz is linked with Alpine as the French team tries to procure Mercedes engines. While it's still hard to put a finger on how good the French team would be, the Spaniard's indecisiveness means he's putting himself in a risky situation where teams might not want to sign him altogether.

Indecision is a vote of no confidence

At this stage, teams like Williams and Audi are going through a cycle where optimism is at an all-time high. These teams are trying to shoot for the stars and are cognizant that it's not going to be easy or straightforward.

For Audi, Andreas Seidl is trying to put together a project that yields titles in the long term. For Williams, James Vowles is trying to put together a squad that brings the team back to its glory days. He's hiring the right people, he's making massive infrastructural changes, and he's trying to build the Grove-based squad into a frontrunner.

By the looks of it, both of these respective teams are very passionate when it comes to achieving their goals. It is the same dream that these two teams have pitched to Carlos Sainz. The indecision, however, shows that the Spaniard is just not convinced that these projects can help put him in a situation where he fights for and wins titles.

While James Vowles' impassioned public plea to Sainz does look great at the moment, if it has been weeks or even months since he has not signed the contract, it does not look good for the project.

Similarly for Audi, Andreas Seidl has started to make it clear that the team wants someone who has faith in the project.

These teams want a long-term commitment

From the manner in which Carlos Sainz has had discussions with various stakeholders of different teams, the Spaniard is by no means interested in a long-term commitment with any of the teams. Be it Audi, Williams, or even Alpine. It appears the driver does not want to grow with the project but rather wants a flexible contract that means he can step out whenever he wants.

The problem with such an approach is that it means the driver is not interested in committing to the project.

He's not someone who wants to spearhead an Audi, a Williams, or an Alpine title challenge in the future. What these extended conversations do is that they start breaking down confidence on both sides on whether the driver is even the correct choice for the project if, all the time, he has one foot out of the door.

There are alternatives to Carlos Sainz available

Most importantly, if teams start losing faith in Carlos Sainz as a driver because of the manner in which he's gone about these negotiations, it won't take long before they start talking to other drivers. Audi has already done this, with talks being held with Esteban Ocon (which didn't turn into anything concrete) and even with the likes of Liam Lawson.

Williams is willing to give Valtteri Bottas a shot as well, as the team starts looking at options. One of the reasons behind stalling the decision for Sainz is that the Mercedes seat has still not been filled by Kimi Antonelli, and there's chatter that Toto Wolff could keep him in F2 for another year.

If Sainz continues to wait and takes a gamble that a seat at Mercedes might open up, he might run out of favor at Alpine as well and the team could easily slot in a young Jack Doohan for the time being.

Conclusion

One of the major reasons why Carlos Sainz has been delaying his decision is because the driver has an outside chance of securing a seat at Red Bull or Mercedes. It is however clear as day that the driver is not the first choice of either of the teams.

Sainz has admitted that the entire process has been very stressful for him as well. The Spaniard should try and resolve the situation as soon as possible because if he doesn't, even Alpine could start losing interest.

The reality of the situation is that Sainz does not want to cede his position as someone who runs at the front of the grid and there's no way he should give up because he has performed well. The unfortunate nature of things as they stand, however, means that the driver will have to face facts and find a midfield seat for now.