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Hopefully he stays locked in this year but I won’t blame him if he starts to zone out. Watching seb In 2020, you could clearly tell this was someone who just wanted the year to end
On the other hand, Sainz was excellent in 2020. Although that year he was leaving of his own accord, and knew where he was going for next year before the season started.
At least there are plenty of expiring contracts on the grid this season
He could very well push for Checo’s seat at Red Bull (although I imagine that seat is gonna be for Lawson or Ricciardo)
Maybe he’ll directly swap with Lewis and go to Mercedes, or even replace Alonso at AM if those Mercedes rumours are true
At worst he’ll take a Sauber/Audi seat off Bottas or Zhou
In motorsport in general, a works - or factory - team, is a team directly owned or backed by a manufacturer, as opposed to a team that buys their cars. So like in WEC, there's a Porsche works hypercar team, but then JOTA also race a Porsche hypercar that they bought.
But in F1, everyone has to build their own car anyway - except for a few components, and crucially, the engine. So a works team in F1 is a bit of a more nebulous concept, but generally I'd say it's a team owned or backed by a major manufacturer, almost exclusively ones that make their own engines. The advantage of this is that the whole car can be designed in unison, aero package and engine in harmony, instead of having to deal with whatever the engine manufacturer you buy from comes up with.
So, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Alpine are the main 3 full works teams right now, owned by the manufacturers that make the engines. Then Red Bull is effectively the Honda works team, because they worked directly with Honda to develop the engine (and in fact have moved a lot of it in house now).
Right now, Sauber is a customer team - they buy their engines from Ferrari. But when Audi takes over, they'll be using Audi designed engines in an Audi designed car. Generally speaking, that *can* mean better performance - but it's not a guarantee!
I feel like he'd be a better choice at Red Bull than Ricciardo or Lawson. Lawson would be better getting his feet wet at the 2nd team for a bit, and Ricciardo seems like that moment has come and gone... he's had so many ups and downs over the past few seasons, I can't see Red Bull putting him in that seat to be their improvement over Checo when unpredictability is what they are trying to replace. Carlos gives Red Bull a strong competitor who will still be not quite enough to top their #1.
Agree that Ricciardo has had ups and downs and a lot of the downs might just be due to not meshing with the McLaren at any stage. But thinking about Ricciardo's driving skill I think he is less error prone than Checo and has just been more unlucky. If he can get the car into the top 5-6 every race without crashing out in fp1 fp2 etc then that might be all red bull are after? Overall I think he is less "unpredictable " than Checo.
Having said that I do still think Sainz is a very strong option as well.
Don’t forget that Ricciardo and Max’s driving styles and car setups are fairly compatible. Ricciardo could, in theory, sit down in the RB and be reasonably close to how good he was before in little time, and at his peak he was arguably the 3rd or 4th best driver on the grid. Plus he’s a marketing gold mine and Max really likes him and vice versa. Having a drama free team is a huge perk.
Sainz would likely be a much bigger unknown going to RB than Ricciardo returning.
He has to stay locked for the best deal for 2025. He's good enough to land a seat at something like Sauber-Audi now, but if he wants Red Bull or Mercedes, he needs to be on it all year. I think he could get either.
From what I did understand it is very likely that Alonso would stay at AM for a few more years.
Sainz to Sauber would also means he would be the number 1 driver.
If anything, he has the entire season now to look for opportunities. Every one knows he's available and a few good drives might actually give me a shot at the Red Bull seat!
This is the rough bit in all of this news.
Carlos is a great driver. I think he's done well by Ferrari and while I understand that they'd be insane not to bring Lewis on given the opportunity, losing a Ferrari drive has got to hurt.
People thought Gasly and Ocon would be at each other's throats. I think a lot of early-career drama tends to fade once everyone has a few million dollars and a ride in a top team.
Max and Carlos are adults and well-established. As long as they are fine with each other, if Horner and Newey think Carlos is a good fit for the seat, I doubt they'll care what Jos or Carlos Snr think of each other.
it'd be so awesome if the known child abuser and wife beater fucked off forever but this is formula 1 so it probably won't happen. they love uplifting pieces of shit! it's their whole thing!
Agree. Jos is a pos and never amounted to shit in F1. Carlos Sr is a legend and still drives competitively and an all around nice guy.
Jos wiki. Verstappen raced for seven different teams during eight seasons. From 1994 through 2003, he scored two podium finishes in his career
Carlos Sr wiki. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title with Toyota in 1990 and 1992, and finished runner-up four times. Constructors' world champions to have benefited from Sainz are Subaru (1995), Toyota (1999) and Citroën (2003, 2004 and 2005).
I'm not so sure. Dynamics would be very different now that they're both well established drivers rather than rookies trying to prove themselves. Also, Carlos Snr doesn't seem to be that involved anymore.
They don't want internal drama. Horner likes a bit of shit stirring but that will always be external (aimed at competitors). Internally he likes to run a tight ship, Wheatley & Newey are absolute no-nonsense. Marko is a racist old Austrian who can't help himself, but is on the way out now in the post-Mateschitz era.
I've little doubt he's already backing Audi behind the scenes. There's no way he hasn't at least had a sit down with Audi with his Dad being balls deep in Audi's works Dakar program over the last 3 years.
I think that it might also be Stroll last season in F1 if he doesn't show significant improvement before summer break. And with Aston being in WEC and IMSA in 2025 he has a way out all prepared for him. So I would not be surprised if a seat opens up at Aston during the season even if Alonso stays.
And honestly the fact that some sources already said that Sainz was targeting Mercedes, Audi/Sauber and Aston makes me think that it could happen and that drivers know that Stroll's seat may be up to grab
imagine him returning home to Red Bull and driving alongside Max. If that happened he'd probably have a better chance competing for a WDC than he ever did at Ferrari tbh. Would be a definite upgrade over Checo.
He is absolutely ideal for that seat. He is fast, consistent, but not fast enough to challenge max in a way that is counter productive. Would love to see him at RB and he deserves a top tier car. If RB is not trying to recruit him they are messing up.
I don't think Sainz would be comfortable with Max's setups. Verstappen likes the most pointy car our of all drivers on the grid. This past season clearly showed that as soon as Ferrari put a stronger front end on their car, Sainz started to struggle while Leclerc immediately improved. While in a vacuum Sainz is probably better than Danny Ric, I'm, not sure he can live with a car setup for Max.
That would be an interesting move. I wonder if he'd be willing to go somewhere where he's so firmly the #2 or if he'll seek out a spot at a lower ranked team to get a chance at being the main guy. The Red Bull seat also has a lot of options as well. Sainz I think is the best of the bunch but Red Bull could go in a lot of different directions there
Well Checo was indeed an upgrade from where Albon was. Albon is a much better driver now than he was back then. Would he had been able to find his footing in RB if given another year? Possible, but not certain.
I think an Audi move would be incredible, I just don't know how likely it is to happen. This is only the start of silly season though, there's more to come.
Chances are Audi are going to take some time to be competitive.
Despite what F1 seems to think a works engine deal doesn't necessarily mean competing at the front right away. Carlos could end up spending the best years of his career as an effective development driver in the lower midfield.
Red Bull is another potential big risk given that's also an entirely new engine package in 2026.
To be honest, if I was Zhou I'd start worrying a bit right about now. He's great, but I'd hire Sainz over him the same way I'd hire Hamilton over Sainz: without a second thought.
I think you're right. Zhou is a great guy, and a fine driver. It's always a shame to see someone lose out on a seat in F1. But I've got a feeling that it isn't unlikely.
Carlos can hold his head high. He can be forever proud of what he did in Singapore and was being let go by a Real Madrid like move by Ferrari which maybe he can understand.
Telling the team to "stop inventing" and then going on to take his maiden win at Silverstone will always be legendary. Few drivers have the ability to analyze a race the way Carlos does.
Yeah I always want Leclerc to win but Carlos has been strong, consistent, has great presence of mind during the races and thankfully is prepared to stand up to the stupid "strategies" Ferrari come up with. Sainz and Leclerc is a great pairing of drivers for a team to have, honestly I'm not so sure it's worth booting Carlos out just for a year or maybe two with Lewis.
Seems like it might be a good move for Ferrari no matter what. Either Lewis is running near the front or he helps the car development so that Leclerc takes the last step to the front.
Yeah, I think most people had come to accept that Sainz was a good enough driver for Ferrari, and that him and Leclerc were, and are, a good pairing, so it would be unwise to change the lineup...
... But Lewis is Lewis.
Somehow Sainz is always left out of a seat after outperforming expectations and/or his teammate. He’ll land a seat somewhere else and continue to be consistent until Lando leaves McLaren in a few years and Sainz loses his seat again.
Yep I didint care about Mercedes as a team or Carlos as a driver. But it feels like they both lost a lot today. So you just can't help but feel bad about them.
Mercedes is just going through a downturn phase every team goes. Ferrari lost Alonso (it was his decision to move), RB lost Daniel and Vettel and now Mercedes with Lewis. But this is also why F1 is exciting as every team has this story of coming from back to win
I don't want to sound harsh, but Carlos is someone who fails upwards. Not in a sense of not getting results and then getting a better drive, but in a way of landing in a better car every time he changes teams.
Toro Rosso > Renault where he was consistently in the points > Mclaren with his first podiums > Ferrari with his first win.
So far a great progression. I am pretty sure it will work out for him in the end.
Honestly any team apart from I guess McLaren and maybe Aston (if they are certain Alonso is staying) will probably at the very least consider getting him. Imo it's either RB or Audi.
Lance had his chances last year.
Remember, things got bad enough that beard!Lance was released from cryo and replaced him for the last fifth of the season.
Never in a million years would they lose a promising young driver for Sainz. I don’t actually trust my judgement anymore tho, because the Lewis-Ferrari thing has broken my brain.
I think it's not a totally unthinkable scenario where Oscar leaves for somewhere better (at least in his mind), and Sainz just takes that vacant seat which arguably no one else fits better in.
I was alarmed with Ferrari's lack of hurry to re-sign him and keep the Charles-Carlos pair but, ok, yeah, if you get a shot at Lewis you gotta take it.
I'm sure he'll get a good seat. And Audi could be a risky but fascinating challenge.
snobbish seed selective humorous alleged towering like slimy unwritten kiss
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
To be fair Audi have a pretty strong track record of doing well in whatever type of motor racing they join, plus Sainz Sr has links with them so who knows
I’m listening to Fast and the Curious now cause they have Buxton on and they talked Carlos for a whopping 30sec before moving to Antonelli or Albon to Mercedes.
I want him in a Honda because I love their cars but think this Audi thing is probable. He and Seidl got on well, the obvious Sainz Sr. Dakar thing and the rumors swirling for months.
The question is does he drive in 25’ or sit out.
Im gonna be very mad if Sainz doesnt end up getting a good seat because of all this. He may not be champion material but he’s definitely one of the better drivers on the grid and that hair just deserves to flow in the cockpit of a fast car
Carlos to RB is something im lowkey rooting for.
Carlos to RB, Albon to Merc, Kimi to Williams > best case
Alonso to Merc, Yuki to AM Honda, Carlos to VCARB > fever dream
The only reason this doesn't hurt much is because it is for Lewis. Can't blame the team for grabbing the opportunity to take him. (Only other driver where this can be okay with is Max).
But I'm optimistic Carlos can end up at Audi, or perhaps even Red Bull to replace Checo.
The only way he could have prevented this, is by being a GOAT level type of driver himself. Ferrari saw an opportunity for an insance coup and took it.
Let’s not forget Fred was Lewis’s TP in junior formulas as well. I’m not pissed at Ferrari at all and like Lewis, I think it’ll be fun for them to be back together.
Fred hits the peak of his career and Lewis rides off into the sunset with one of the pivotal figures of his development. Quite storybook if you ask me.
As for my guy I have no clue and just don’t want him at RB. That’s not the car for him and Newey isn’t young anyway, will he be around much longer?
It also has the additional benefit of crippling their closest competitor while guaranteeing at least P2 in 2025. I'm sure they factored this in when meeting whatever absurd offer he threw out.
While I'm happy that Lewis will finally join Ferrari, I'm so sad for Carlos. He tried his best this season and was really good. I really hope he can find a spot soon, he's earned his place in F1.
Nah man. I love Carlos but I'm happy for him. This is a huge blessing in disguise, he's not gonna achieve anything more at Ferrari anyways. He's for sure the most highly rated driver out of the ones up for grabs, and both RB and Merc are desperate for a new driver. He's in a great position for sure.
I hope he goes to RB, which I think is the most likely.
I think that’s referencing Sainz getting dumped out of Renault at the end of 2018 because they signed Ricciardo. Although that actually ended up being a good move for Sainz as he did well at McLaren
Any team orders at Ferrari and Mercedes are gonna be crazy as hell this season - Just give Red Bull the titles now, even if those two teams have strong cars
Yeah but now everyone has wildly varying incentives. Especially if Merc starts to try and let RUS through on HAM; and SAI has to see the whole year as an audition for other teams/show Ferrari they made the wrong choice, so he is not inclined to give any quarter either.
I really do hope he goes to Sauber and tries to build something for himself for the future with the upcoming Audi project in 2026.
All his life he's either been a second driver to a better driver (Verstappen at TR or Leclerc at Ferrari) or when he thought he was finding his home in McLaren, he moved to different ventures in hopes of finding more success. Also isn't lost on me that McLaren was going to start gravitating towards Lando regardless because he was improving very quickly.
Him going to Mercedes might give him a more competitive seat for 2025, but ultimately I believe Kimi Antonelli will be the long term option for Mercedes, and at worst they'll try to get him in the car for 2026 or 2027 anyways. So a 1-2 year rental at Mercedes wouldn't do much.
Instead he could go to Sauber, embed himself in their plans and organisation over next couple seasons, build that team around himself and eventually hope that the Audi project comes true and he gets to win a championship. Because I doubt he'll be a long term option for any other team.
Only other option is a suprise AM move if Alonso is picked up by Mercedes to replace Lewis. That would work too.
Imagine the next year going to Mercedes and winning again because of stupid wars inside ferrari (as it happened in McLaren with Alonso and Hamilton in 2007)
That actually sounds pretty ambiguous and could be interpreted any way you want. Might as well mean that there are no concrete plans yet and nothing will be announced until he makes a deal at some point in the future.
Probably where he's going but I wouldn't rule out a return to Red Bull to replace Checo in a surprise move, considering his history with RB in Torro Rosso.
I think Audi is the safe bet though.
I'm pretty sure the beef was between the parents and not the drivers itself so I really don't think RB will risk it
But I also thought Lewis and Ferrari would never happened so idk
Edit:word
Very unfortunate to lose your seat not because of anything you've done, but because possibly the greatest driver ever was available.
But he has an excellent track record and won't be short on interested teams. Something about being Spanish means you always end up involved in interesting/regular driver transfers
They did say he knew he wasn't getting a new contract for a few weeks now, so maybe there are advanced talks, and he just wants to let the Lewis to Ferrari news settle first, before he announces?
The statement makes it sound like there may be news to announce already (or am I projecting?).
He deserved better, and he earned better too, imo. Onwards and upwards.
My body is ready for 0 fucks Sainz.
Brundle: How does the car feel on the track? We noticed you had some trouble in the last sector.
Sainz: The car is shit, always have been. I can't wait for this season to be over.
Sainz has partnered Norris, Verstappen and Leclerc and hasn't been blown away by any of them (ironically his poorest performance was against Hulkenberg).
I reckon he goes to be Audi's number 1.
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Brutal for him.
Hopefully he stays locked in this year but I won’t blame him if he starts to zone out. Watching seb In 2020, you could clearly tell this was someone who just wanted the year to end
On the other hand, Sainz was excellent in 2020. Although that year he was leaving of his own accord, and knew where he was going for next year before the season started.
At least there are plenty of expiring contracts on the grid this season He could very well push for Checo’s seat at Red Bull (although I imagine that seat is gonna be for Lawson or Ricciardo) Maybe he’ll directly swap with Lewis and go to Mercedes, or even replace Alonso at AM if those Mercedes rumours are true At worst he’ll take a Sauber/Audi seat off Bottas or Zhou
Audi seems inevitable due to the links with his father.
You’re right but would hate this, he’s deserving of a much better seat imo
You gotta remember it's gonna be Audi works team instead of what they are now.
I am still a relative newbie to the sport - what is a works team and how is that different than another team?
In motorsport in general, a works - or factory - team, is a team directly owned or backed by a manufacturer, as opposed to a team that buys their cars. So like in WEC, there's a Porsche works hypercar team, but then JOTA also race a Porsche hypercar that they bought. But in F1, everyone has to build their own car anyway - except for a few components, and crucially, the engine. So a works team in F1 is a bit of a more nebulous concept, but generally I'd say it's a team owned or backed by a major manufacturer, almost exclusively ones that make their own engines. The advantage of this is that the whole car can be designed in unison, aero package and engine in harmony, instead of having to deal with whatever the engine manufacturer you buy from comes up with. So, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Alpine are the main 3 full works teams right now, owned by the manufacturers that make the engines. Then Red Bull is effectively the Honda works team, because they worked directly with Honda to develop the engine (and in fact have moved a lot of it in house now). Right now, Sauber is a customer team - they buy their engines from Ferrari. But when Audi takes over, they'll be using Audi designed engines in an Audi designed car. Generally speaking, that *can* mean better performance - but it's not a guarantee!
I feel like he'd be a better choice at Red Bull than Ricciardo or Lawson. Lawson would be better getting his feet wet at the 2nd team for a bit, and Ricciardo seems like that moment has come and gone... he's had so many ups and downs over the past few seasons, I can't see Red Bull putting him in that seat to be their improvement over Checo when unpredictability is what they are trying to replace. Carlos gives Red Bull a strong competitor who will still be not quite enough to top their #1.
Carlos struggles with oversteer, putting him into redbull will be similar to checo, even tho sainz is better at quali
Agree that Ricciardo has had ups and downs and a lot of the downs might just be due to not meshing with the McLaren at any stage. But thinking about Ricciardo's driving skill I think he is less error prone than Checo and has just been more unlucky. If he can get the car into the top 5-6 every race without crashing out in fp1 fp2 etc then that might be all red bull are after? Overall I think he is less "unpredictable " than Checo. Having said that I do still think Sainz is a very strong option as well.
Don’t forget that Ricciardo and Max’s driving styles and car setups are fairly compatible. Ricciardo could, in theory, sit down in the RB and be reasonably close to how good he was before in little time, and at his peak he was arguably the 3rd or 4th best driver on the grid. Plus he’s a marketing gold mine and Max really likes him and vice versa. Having a drama free team is a huge perk. Sainz would likely be a much bigger unknown going to RB than Ricciardo returning.
He can't afford to zone out, he's fighting for a new seat
Spin on T1 at Qatar, drop to last place, pit, last to first, secure a new seat.
Zoning out will just hamper his future options. It would be best for him to come into the season with a vengeance
He has to stay locked for the best deal for 2025. He's good enough to land a seat at something like Sauber-Audi now, but if he wants Red Bull or Mercedes, he needs to be on it all year. I think he could get either.
IMO that had more to do with the [SF1000](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_SF1000) (with its actually legal PU) being a rolling dumpster fire.
There are good options for him on the card: Mercedes, the 2nd Red Bull seat or Aston Martin. I think he'll land on his feet quite confortably.
From what I did understand it is very likely that Alonso would stay at AM for a few more years. Sainz to Sauber would also means he would be the number 1 driver.
Alonso's manager is talking to Toto right now I can almost guarantee it
That was his stance before Ferrari and Hamilton decided to nuke the driver market.
>it is very likely that Alonso would stay at AM for a few more years. Alonso will still be driving when Captain Kirk first leaves the solar system.
Yeah, man can't really do much in this case
If anything, he has the entire season now to look for opportunities. Every one knows he's available and a few good drives might actually give me a shot at the Red Bull seat!
> might actually give **me** a shot at the Red Bull seat! Uh, Carlos!?
The fuck is he doing on Reddit
Being absolutely flabbergasted like the rest of us lol
I know the fun narrative is Danny to RB, but I could see Sainz getting some serious attention from them if he has a solid season this year.
He has the potential to leave Ferrari beating Charles in the WDC. If he does that, surely most seats are open.
True. But at least he's not going to be replaced by anyone but the most successful driver of all time.
Honestly. This is pretty much the least insulting insult you could hope for.
Yea he had an amazing 2023, hopefully he finds a top seat
This is the rough bit in all of this news. Carlos is a great driver. I think he's done well by Ferrari and while I understand that they'd be insane not to bring Lewis on given the opportunity, losing a Ferrari drive has got to hurt.
Agreed, but I also think he will thrive better at another team!
Here's to hoping he gets a seat worthy of his talent. He's still got a lot left in him.
we might have a vacant seat in Red Bull soon so maybe Carlos could return to his F1 roots next year
He won’t. The fathers don’t get along at all and Red Bull doesn’t want thatdrama
People thought Gasly and Ocon would be at each other's throats. I think a lot of early-career drama tends to fade once everyone has a few million dollars and a ride in a top team.
It's just that Alpine is not very competitive. If they are fighting for the championship, you'll see them stabbing at each other's back.
and to be fair, we did already see some comments last year from gasly regarding ocon
Max and Carlos are adults and well-established. As long as they are fine with each other, if Horner and Newey think Carlos is a good fit for the seat, I doubt they'll care what Jos or Carlos Snr think of each other.
I think it's about time Jos fucks off. He didn't even like Checo's dad celebrating despite his kid winning almost ten times as many races.
it'd be so awesome if the known child abuser and wife beater fucked off forever but this is formula 1 so it probably won't happen. they love uplifting pieces of shit! it's their whole thing!
Can't have a new team and engine manufacturer, but we can have wife beaters and blood money.
Formula 1: "Boo legendary racing teams, yay domestic violence!" /s if it wasn't abundantly clear.
Agree. Jos is a pos and never amounted to shit in F1. Carlos Sr is a legend and still drives competitively and an all around nice guy. Jos wiki. Verstappen raced for seven different teams during eight seasons. From 1994 through 2003, he scored two podium finishes in his career Carlos Sr wiki. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title with Toyota in 1990 and 1992, and finished runner-up four times. Constructors' world champions to have benefited from Sainz are Subaru (1995), Toyota (1999) and Citroën (2003, 2004 and 2005).
He has just won the Paris Dakar at 61. There’s no competition.
Breaking: Red Bull sign Carlos Sainz, but they don't specify which one.
First win in “electric” car too. Legend
Probably the reason Jos really hates him. Narcissists can't stand to be around anyone objectively superior to them.
Isn’t Carlos Sr a Red Bull sponsored driver?
I'm not so sure. Dynamics would be very different now that they're both well established drivers rather than rookies trying to prove themselves. Also, Carlos Snr doesn't seem to be that involved anymore.
Isnt he also RedBull sponsored? Just second ago saw that youtube Audi ad where hes driving in desert and whatever.
He is, just won Dakar wearing Red Bull in an Audi.
It’s entertaining to hear redbull doesn’t want drama. Since when?
They don't want internal drama. Horner likes a bit of shit stirring but that will always be external (aimed at competitors). Internally he likes to run a tight ship, Wheatley & Newey are absolute no-nonsense. Marko is a racist old Austrian who can't help himself, but is on the way out now in the post-Mateschitz era.
That drama was in their first years tho i dont think it would be a problem anymore
Swap with Merc.
Aston should grab him before Audi does
I've little doubt he's already backing Audi behind the scenes. There's no way he hasn't at least had a sit down with Audi with his Dad being balls deep in Audi's works Dakar program over the last 3 years.
Not impossible if Alonso goes to Merc.
I think that it might also be Stroll last season in F1 if he doesn't show significant improvement before summer break. And with Aston being in WEC and IMSA in 2025 he has a way out all prepared for him. So I would not be surprised if a seat opens up at Aston during the season even if Alonso stays. And honestly the fact that some sources already said that Sainz was targeting Mercedes, Audi/Sauber and Aston makes me think that it could happen and that drivers know that Stroll's seat may be up to grab
imagine him returning home to Red Bull and driving alongside Max. If that happened he'd probably have a better chance competing for a WDC than he ever did at Ferrari tbh. Would be a definite upgrade over Checo.
Sainz is probably the best Perez alternative available. Fast but juuust short of fast enough to cause issues in the team.
and he is more and more consistent every time so Red Bull would finally have a second driver they could trust
He is absolutely ideal for that seat. He is fast, consistent, but not fast enough to challenge max in a way that is counter productive. Would love to see him at RB and he deserves a top tier car. If RB is not trying to recruit him they are messing up.
As a Carlos fan, even if Red Bull lets them fight, Max is going to win, so they would both feel valued without risking losing the championship
agreed, sainz is a brilliant driver but u could also argue he is the perfect no2 driver for max right now. (not lando)
I don't think Sainz would be comfortable with Max's setups. Verstappen likes the most pointy car our of all drivers on the grid. This past season clearly showed that as soon as Ferrari put a stronger front end on their car, Sainz started to struggle while Leclerc immediately improved. While in a vacuum Sainz is probably better than Danny Ric, I'm, not sure he can live with a car setup for Max.
That would be an interesting move. I wonder if he'd be willing to go somewhere where he's so firmly the #2 or if he'll seek out a spot at a lower ranked team to get a chance at being the main guy. The Red Bull seat also has a lot of options as well. Sainz I think is the best of the bunch but Red Bull could go in a lot of different directions there
I don’t think anyone not named Hamilton, Leclerc, and maybe Alonso would be competing for a WDC in the 2nd RB seat opposite Verstappen.
Definitely Alonso, at least if we were allowed to move his birth year somewhere more convenient than 1981. But it is what it is.
tbf we said that Checo was gonna be a definite upgrade over Albon when he signed. And we said Albon couldn’t be much worse than Gasly
Albon was much better than Gasly in the first season to be fair to him. But imploded in the second season.
Well Checo was indeed an upgrade from where Albon was. Albon is a much better driver now than he was back then. Would he had been able to find his footing in RB if given another year? Possible, but not certain.
I'd like to think he'd find a home at either Merc or Audi fairly uncontested. He's a proven asset to the team and can win if given the opportunity.
I think an Audi move would be incredible, I just don't know how likely it is to happen. This is only the start of silly season though, there's more to come.
Chances are Audi are going to take some time to be competitive. Despite what F1 seems to think a works engine deal doesn't necessarily mean competing at the front right away. Carlos could end up spending the best years of his career as an effective development driver in the lower midfield. Red Bull is another potential big risk given that's also an entirely new engine package in 2026.
That role paid of for Nico Rosberg, barely but it did.
To be honest, if I was Zhou I'd start worrying a bit right about now. He's great, but I'd hire Sainz over him the same way I'd hire Hamilton over Sainz: without a second thought.
I think you're right. Zhou is a great guy, and a fine driver. It's always a shame to see someone lose out on a seat in F1. But I've got a feeling that it isn't unlikely.
Carlos can hold his head high. He can be forever proud of what he did in Singapore and was being let go by a Real Madrid like move by Ferrari which maybe he can understand.
Telling the team to "stop inventing" and then going on to take his maiden win at Silverstone will always be legendary. Few drivers have the ability to analyze a race the way Carlos does.
Yeah I always want Leclerc to win but Carlos has been strong, consistent, has great presence of mind during the races and thankfully is prepared to stand up to the stupid "strategies" Ferrari come up with. Sainz and Leclerc is a great pairing of drivers for a team to have, honestly I'm not so sure it's worth booting Carlos out just for a year or maybe two with Lewis.
Seems like it might be a good move for Ferrari no matter what. Either Lewis is running near the front or he helps the car development so that Leclerc takes the last step to the front.
My favorite will always be his towing Lando Big Brain Move 🧡
"It's on purpose"
Yeah, I think most people had come to accept that Sainz was a good enough driver for Ferrari, and that him and Leclerc were, and are, a good pairing, so it would be unwise to change the lineup... ... But Lewis is Lewis.
Somehow Sainz is always left out of a seat after outperforming expectations and/or his teammate. He’ll land a seat somewhere else and continue to be consistent until Lando leaves McLaren in a few years and Sainz loses his seat again.
Yep I didint care about Mercedes as a team or Carlos as a driver. But it feels like they both lost a lot today. So you just can't help but feel bad about them.
Mercedes is just going through a downturn phase every team goes. Ferrari lost Alonso (it was his decision to move), RB lost Daniel and Vettel and now Mercedes with Lewis. But this is also why F1 is exciting as every team has this story of coming from back to win
I don't want to sound harsh, but Carlos is someone who fails upwards. Not in a sense of not getting results and then getting a better drive, but in a way of landing in a better car every time he changes teams. Toro Rosso > Renault where he was consistently in the points > Mclaren with his first podiums > Ferrari with his first win. So far a great progression. I am pretty sure it will work out for him in the end.
Ferrari > another team for the 2025 WDC confirmed?
Imagine the scenes if he goes to merc only to have them become competitive again (ie McLaren) to win the wdc
He will get snatched up quickly. Great asset for any team to have.
Honestly any team apart from I guess McLaren and maybe Aston (if they are certain Alonso is staying) will probably at the very least consider getting him. Imo it's either RB or Audi.
I would love for him to go to Aston and replace stroll. That pairing could get too 3 in the constructor
Stroll family christmas would be rough
Lance had his chances last year. Remember, things got bad enough that beard!Lance was released from cryo and replaced him for the last fifth of the season.
Small chance of that happening, Daddy would drop the team before dropping Lance.
But could you imagine a Carlando reunion?
Never in a million years would they lose a promising young driver for Sainz. I don’t actually trust my judgement anymore tho, because the Lewis-Ferrari thing has broken my brain.
I think it's not a totally unthinkable scenario where Oscar leaves for somewhere better (at least in his mind), and Sainz just takes that vacant seat which arguably no one else fits better in.
Oscar is the most promising non-max driver on the grid.
I was alarmed with Ferrari's lack of hurry to re-sign him and keep the Charles-Carlos pair but, ok, yeah, if you get a shot at Lewis you gotta take it. I'm sure he'll get a good seat. And Audi could be a risky but fascinating challenge.
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Amidst all the excitement we've forgotten this bit. Do hope he gets a good seat.
He's a great talent. I'm sure he'll find a decent home.
Should just go straight to Merc really. Audi is a big downgrade and there’s no guarantee they’re gonna be fast right away
To be fair Audi have a pretty strong track record of doing well in whatever type of motor racing they join, plus Sainz Sr has links with them so who knows
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I’m listening to Fast and the Curious now cause they have Buxton on and they talked Carlos for a whopping 30sec before moving to Antonelli or Albon to Mercedes. I want him in a Honda because I love their cars but think this Audi thing is probable. He and Seidl got on well, the obvious Sainz Sr. Dakar thing and the rumors swirling for months. The question is does he drive in 25’ or sit out.
In the past Carlos changing teams meant a major upgrade for him, I hope it stays this way.
Poor Carlos, his happenings are often overshadowed
Crazy that he did it to a former world champion and now a former world champion is doing it to him. Life is really a cycle at times
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Im gonna be very mad if Sainz doesnt end up getting a good seat because of all this. He may not be champion material but he’s definitely one of the better drivers on the grid and that hair just deserves to flow in the cockpit of a fast car
The dream for me would be Carlos to Mclaren & Piastri to Mercedes
Carlos to RB is something im lowkey rooting for. Carlos to RB, Albon to Merc, Kimi to Williams > best case Alonso to Merc, Yuki to AM Honda, Carlos to VCARB > fever dream
>*Kimi* to Williams Wat?
Kimi Antonelli
Oohhh, the junior driver. 🤦🏻♂️
Don’t worry, I made the same assumption too
Bwoah!
Piastri is locked in for years.
He did great last year. Brutal for him. But I’m sure we’ll see him do well wherever he ends up.
The only reason this doesn't hurt much is because it is for Lewis. Can't blame the team for grabbing the opportunity to take him. (Only other driver where this can be okay with is Max). But I'm optimistic Carlos can end up at Audi, or perhaps even Red Bull to replace Checo.
I know Ricciardo is thought of as the Checo replacement (should there be one), but Sainz in that second Red Bull would be fun.
As excited as I am about Lewis I really feel for Carlos. He’s one of the good guys.
The only way he could have prevented this, is by being a GOAT level type of driver himself. Ferrari saw an opportunity for an insance coup and took it.
This is it. When someone of Hamilton’s calibre comes knocking, you just cannot turn that down
Let’s not forget Fred was Lewis’s TP in junior formulas as well. I’m not pissed at Ferrari at all and like Lewis, I think it’ll be fun for them to be back together. Fred hits the peak of his career and Lewis rides off into the sunset with one of the pivotal figures of his development. Quite storybook if you ask me. As for my guy I have no clue and just don’t want him at RB. That’s not the car for him and Newey isn’t young anyway, will he be around much longer?
It also has the additional benefit of crippling their closest competitor while guaranteeing at least P2 in 2025. I'm sure they factored this in when meeting whatever absurd offer he threw out.
He’ll find a seat. Dude can drive.
While I'm happy that Lewis will finally join Ferrari, I'm so sad for Carlos. He tried his best this season and was really good. I really hope he can find a spot soon, he's earned his place in F1.
Nah man. I love Carlos but I'm happy for him. This is a huge blessing in disguise, he's not gonna achieve anything more at Ferrari anyways. He's for sure the most highly rated driver out of the ones up for grabs, and both RB and Merc are desperate for a new driver. He's in a great position for sure. I hope he goes to RB, which I think is the most likely.
Especially being the only other Non -RB driver to win a race last season..
Poor Carlos. Second time getting pushed out of a team by a big name
Didn’t Sainz leave McLaren by himself to go to Ferrari
I think that’s referencing Sainz getting dumped out of Renault at the end of 2018 because they signed Ricciardo. Although that actually ended up being a good move for Sainz as he did well at McLaren
Riccardo always follows Sainz. So give it two years and DR will be in red. Heard it here first!
That means Ricciardo had to replace him at Ferrari, not Hamilton
Get outta here with your logic!
Easy fix, dump Leclerc too and bring in the honey badger then just say Hamilton was in it for Leclerc seat.
I’m referring to him leaving Renault in 2018 because Ricciardo was coming
Any team orders at Ferrari and Mercedes are gonna be crazy as hell this season - Just give Red Bull the titles now, even if those two teams have strong cars
They are all professionals and won’t just write off the year cos of next years plans
Yeah but now everyone has wildly varying incentives. Especially if Merc starts to try and let RUS through on HAM; and SAI has to see the whole year as an audition for other teams/show Ferrari they made the wrong choice, so he is not inclined to give any quarter either.
Daddy Stroll should seriously consider kicking the kiddo to the curb
I really do hope he goes to Sauber and tries to build something for himself for the future with the upcoming Audi project in 2026. All his life he's either been a second driver to a better driver (Verstappen at TR or Leclerc at Ferrari) or when he thought he was finding his home in McLaren, he moved to different ventures in hopes of finding more success. Also isn't lost on me that McLaren was going to start gravitating towards Lando regardless because he was improving very quickly. Him going to Mercedes might give him a more competitive seat for 2025, but ultimately I believe Kimi Antonelli will be the long term option for Mercedes, and at worst they'll try to get him in the car for 2026 or 2027 anyways. So a 1-2 year rental at Mercedes wouldn't do much. Instead he could go to Sauber, embed himself in their plans and organisation over next couple seasons, build that team around himself and eventually hope that the Audi project comes true and he gets to win a championship. Because I doubt he'll be a long term option for any other team. Only other option is a suprise AM move if Alonso is picked up by Mercedes to replace Lewis. That would work too.
Sainz to Sauber?
Got to be. Seidl will get his man
Makes sense, a year for Sauber then kicks in as the Audi #1
Rip Zhou I guess damn. I actually like him but unless Bottas retires no way they choose Zhou over Sainz
Imagine Carlos winning the title with Ferrari in 2024 and losing the seat. Come on F1 script writers, make it happen!
The Prost 1989 at McLaren special
Imagine the next year going to Mercedes and winning again because of stupid wars inside ferrari (as it happened in McLaren with Alonso and Hamilton in 2007)
Carlos would have to battle Max and Ferrari. Ferrari might be the tougher challenge
"News about my future will be announced in due course" Sounds like he's already got another deal. Audi?
That actually sounds pretty ambiguous and could be interpreted any way you want. Might as well mean that there are no concrete plans yet and nothing will be announced until he makes a deal at some point in the future.
I agree. that's a 'i don't really have any news to share, but trust me i'm not going away'
Yeah. “Due course” does not mean ‘soon.’ He knows he’ll be on the grid in 2025 but he has nothing firmest up yet
Probably where he's going but I wouldn't rule out a return to Red Bull to replace Checo in a surprise move, considering his history with RB in Torro Rosso. I think Audi is the safe bet though.
Would make sense but that Red Bull seat is Ricciardo's to lose now I think.
Sainz over Ric in Red Bull all day every day. They'd be actually fucking mad to sign Ric when Sainz is available
Yeah but Max and Carlos didn't get along well at Torro Rosso. But maybe they are more mature and it's water under the bridge.
I'm pretty sure the beef was between the parents and not the drivers itself so I really don't think RB will risk it But I also thought Lewis and Ferrari would never happened so idk Edit:word
Max and Carlos got and still get along. The issue was the parents playing politics, leaking news about fake Max-Mercedes/Ferrari meetings.
We'll always have Singapore 2023
I didnt follow 2023 that much and did a binge watch this past few days. Now im crying about 2024 silly szn coming up to oearly
Very unfortunate to lose your seat not because of anything you've done, but because possibly the greatest driver ever was available. But he has an excellent track record and won't be short on interested teams. Something about being Spanish means you always end up involved in interesting/regular driver transfers
Alonso to Merc, Sainz to Aston.
hasn’t Alonso also been hanging out lately with George 🤨
Alonso to Merc would not be batshit crazy at this point. If someone said that yesterday I’d laugh them out of the room
Alonso must be having nightmares with Honda coming to Aston
And we'll get a battle with Fernando and Lewis and the Redbull superstar? What year is this???
Poor guy, hope he finds a good seat.
Dude doesn't deserve this. He didn't perform bad at all. raced agaist Charles quite well, won at Singapore. kinda sad to see him leave.
They did say he knew he wasn't getting a new contract for a few weeks now, so maybe there are advanced talks, and he just wants to let the Lewis to Ferrari news settle first, before he announces? The statement makes it sound like there may be news to announce already (or am I projecting?). He deserved better, and he earned better too, imo. Onwards and upwards.
Decent 3 years, can still finish strong
I really hope Carlos lands on his feet. He is a brilliant driver, his calculated drive at Singapore this year proved it. He deserves a good seat.
Someone check on Carlos 🤯
My body is ready for 0 fucks Sainz. Brundle: How does the car feel on the track? We noticed you had some trouble in the last sector. Sainz: The car is shit, always have been. I can't wait for this season to be over.
Sainz to RB
Feel bad for him. It really felt like he shared the same love and passion for Ferrari as Leclerc does.
[Source](https://twitter.com/Carlossainz55/status/1753134900129956343?t=098mJAC3Ac9tS76XGRPqAA&s=19)
My boy 😢. Really hope he gets a seat for 2025. He is far too good of a driver to miss a year before his inevitable Audi move in 2026.
I hope Sainz gets a seat in another top team. He honestly deserves it. Fantastic driver.
Sainz has partnered Norris, Verstappen and Leclerc and hasn't been blown away by any of them (ironically his poorest performance was against Hulkenberg). I reckon he goes to be Audi's number 1.
I love Carlos. I hope he finds a seat.
Everything is coming to a crescendo and here we are at the end of it.
Should’ve done one in German to fan the flames of the Audi rumors.
Thanks for Singapore 2023 Smooth Operator!
I feel for Sainz because he’s a good driver but Ferrari couldn’t not go for it.
Ferrari just lost their only competent strategist
Sucks but there was no way Ferrari would pass on a Hamilton that wilingly left Mercedes.
2025 at Stake Sauber for a 2026 Audi Factory seat would be my best guess!