“Everything makes sense”: Carlos Sainz speaks on various possibilities of his impending F1 future

Carlos Sainz believes all possibilities of contracts, short or medium term, are viable options for his future for 2025 and beyond. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda, the outgoing Ferrari driver felt that there was no rush to decide on his future despite other driver contracts being dependent on it.

Holding the key to the 2025 driver market, Carlos Sainz has been wooed by several teams for a potential contract for his future. Since January, when he was announced as a free agent on the market, top teams to midfield teams have offered him their terms. As spoken to Sportskeeda and other media at previous races, his priority has been to seek a medium to long-term contract.

According to speculation, Carlos Sainz was almost signed by Williams until Alpine started to woo the driver. However, apart from the French manufacturer, Audi and Mercedes remain other options. Audi and Williams have been linked to multi-year contract offers whereas Mercedes might have a slightly shorter term offer, given that their junior driver Kimi Antonelli remains one of the options. Although Sainz has chosen to not rush into any decision, there has been growing frustration within teams and drivers over the time taken by him to sign a contract. Several drivers' futures are inadvertently being impacted and are dependent on his decision.

Upon being asked by Sportskeeda if a medium to long-year contract with a mid-field team made more sense than a single-year contract with a top team, Carlos Sainz replied:

“Everything makes sense. All of it makes sense.”

Asked if he had inched closer to making a decision, the 29-year-old replied:

“For sure that every week or day that passes by, I am closer to taking that decision. But I have been closer to watching the Euros (Euro Cup 2024 matches). Haven’t taken any decision.”

Asked if he was conscious of the fact that his decision was inadvertently impacting the decisions of many other drivers, Carlos Sainz replied:

“I am conscious of it but at the same time I don’t think that it’s going to change. It's only the timing that I am changing, I am not changing the outcome of anyone. As probably all teams by now have their priorities and make their decisions depending on every scenario, you know. At the same time, this sport and this world has taught me how to be a bit more on the selfish side, look out for myself, and take the decision I have to take whenever I need to take it and have all the options on the table, and ready to take the decision. Not rush things when I don’t need to.”

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Carlos Sainz fails to understand the urgency of signing a contract before summer break

Carlos Sainz believes the drivers have been moving too early in 2024, unlike in previous years when the movement would begin between July and September. With Lewis Hamilton announcing his shock move to Ferrari as early as February, the driver market has been bustling with movement. While some drivers have managed to secure their futures in the sport, many of them are dependent on the Spaniard’s decision. There was speculation about growing frustration within teams seeking an answer from him, but the Ferrari driver claimed that they were patient with him.

Asked if the teams awaiting a decision from him had been patient, Sainz replied:

“Yeah the teams have been very patient and I thank them for that. But I have also had to be patient. It's not like I am the only one and here the only one deciding. I have also had to take the patient pill with other things and I had to be patient. At the same time, I thank everyone to hang in there while I take the decision. And I think what I don’t fully understand is why the market is happening so early this year? Why everyone is in a rush? What I remember, it use to be around summer break, September, July use to be when all those situations use to happen.”

In the current scenario, teams are lining up alternatives if Carlos Sainz does not sign with them. If he were to not sign with Williams, James Vowles is in talks with Valtteri Bottas, with whom he has worked with in the past. Alpine is considering reserve driver Jack Doohan in case the three-time Grand Prix winner does not choose them. Audi is in talks with Liam Lawson as a backup, while Mercedes can give an early break to their junior driver Kimi Antonelli. The two teams that are most likely to be considered in the current scenario are Alpine and Mercedes. However, from the looks of it, this is a scenario that could take until after summer break to unfold.