Carlos Sainz cites Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris as he pushes back on suggestions of a potential rift with Max Verstappen as teammate

Carlos Sainz has cited the example of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris as his teammates when suggested that a partnership with Max Verstappen at Red BUll in 2025 could have proved contentious. The Spaniard received a shock early in the year when Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari was announced.

Following this, Sainz was in reported talks with multiple teams on the F1 grid including Red Bull, Mercedes, Alpine, and others. He finally made the call to sign with Williams for 2025 and beyond.

For a while, however, there were suggestions that Carlos Sainz could be the perfect teammate for Max Verstappen at Red Bull. Considering Sainz's consistency and pace and the times he showed at Ferrari that he could be a match for Charles Leclerc, many thought he would fit in at Red Bull.

There were, however, also suggestions that the partnership between the two when they were teamed up at Torro Rosso was fractious, and this put a stop to Red Bull's plans of having a Max Verstappen-Carlos Sainz line-up for 2025. The Spaniard, however, feels that what happened during their Torro Rosso days would have no bearing had the two paired up next season.

Citing how well he got on with Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, the Spaniard claimed that there would not have been an issue between him and Max Verstappen. Sainz said (via PlanetF1),

“I think I would get on well with him. We were 16 and 19 years old back then. We’ve matured a lot since then. At Toro Rosso, they put you in a team and say: ‘Fight each other, then we’ll see who’s the best and who gets promoted to Red Bull!’ That’s the reason why Toro Rosso exists. You don’t drive there together for the team classification, otherwise the behavior of the two drivers would change completely."

He added,

“You can see it with Charles and Lando, my last two team-mates – there were never any problems. So if my relationship with Max was the reason why I didn’t end up there, then I would say that there would have been no problems. If the decision depended solely on that, then it would simply be wrong. But I’ve already told them that.”

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Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen's careers took different paths after their stint at Torro Rosso together

Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen's careers took different paths after their partnership ended in mid-2016. The Dutch driver was promoted to Red Bull in the 2016 F1 Spanish GP while the the Spaniard stayed at Red Bull's junior team for another year.

After realizing that there was no path for him to the senior team, Sainz left the Red Bull umbrella as he looked to take control of his career. He moved to Renault for 2018 and after just one year with the team, he made the move to McLaren.

At McLaren, he partnered with Lando Norris and achieved his first F1 podium while with the British team. While time Max Verstappen was establishing himself as a frontrunner, Sainz continued to make his way through the field and found himself driving for Ferrari in 2021.

Since 2021, while Verstappen has gone on to win multiple titles, Carlos Sainz has established himself as a strong frontrunner who could beat anyone on his day.

For the 2025 F1 season, the Spaniard will be at Williams, while there is still a lack of clarity over who will be teaming up with Max Verstappen at Red Bull.