Where next for Carlos Sainz after he was replaced at Ferrari by Lewis Hamilton?
With Carlos 🌟Sa𒅌inz out of Ferrari following Lewis Hamilton’s sensational move, what options are on the table for the Spaniard in 2025?
Mercedes
Mercedes are the obvious chꦏo🧔ice for Sainz given they have an open seat following Hamilton's shock departure.
They will be needing a Hamilton ꦏreplacement, and given Sainz is probably going to be the best driver available on the F1 driver market for 2025, he’s the ideal candidate.
Max Verstappen is locked in at Red Bull, as is Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, while Lando Norris has recently signed a multi-year dea🐭l with McLaren.
Other than perhaps Fernando Alonso, Sainz - in raw performance terms - is pꩵrobably the best bet.
It’s easy to forget 🎉that Sainz out-scored Charles Leclerc in his first year wꦺith the team - and was only narrowly beaten in the 2023 standings.
Sainz is incredibly fast, reliable, and would𝄹 be a strong option alongside George Russell.
Red Bull
Another top team which might need a new driver for 2025 is ꧒Red Bull as Serཧgio Perez’s F1 contract runs out at the end of this year.
Pere🏅z’s form in 2023 was generally poor, leading many to question his future with ꧟the team.
Given Ferrari will have a blockbuster line-up 🦹o♚f Leclerc and Hamilton, Red Bull will be keen to upgrade Perez.
While it’s unlikely Sainz will b🏅e able to be a serious match for Verstappen across a season, there’s no doubt he would pose a bigger threat than Perez.
One caveat though is that it’s widely known✤ that there was a “toxic” atmosphere at Toro Rosso when Verstappen and Sainz were teammates last time.
However, if you’re in Christian Horner’s shoes, and the𒐪 options are Sainz, Perez or Daniel Ricciardo, then the ꦬchoice is very simple.
Sauber/Audi
The Sainz to Audꦗi links have been constant since the German manufacturer announced their takeover of the Swiss-outfit. 𒁏;
Audiꦜ will e🌄nter F1 at the start of 2026, becoming a full-fledged works outfit.
Currently, ꦜit’s unlikely Sainz would be wil💦ling to join Sauber (Stake) given their uncompetitiveness.
No doubt, joining Audi would be a 𒊎huge risk, but he’d 🉐certainly be the number one driver at the team - something he wouldn’t have at Mercedes or Red Bull.
His father, Carlos Sainz, has a close association with Audi and recently won the Dakar Rally driving for the🍸m🍌.
A solid optiꦡon if one of the two top teams decide to look elsewhere.
Aston Martin
It’s difficult to know whether Aston Martin wi꧒ll be involved in ‘silly season’ ahead of 2025.
Alonso seems very comfortable with the 🐼team, while Lance Stroll’s situation comes down to whether he’s motiv💝ated to stay in F1 - and if his father, Lawrence, wants him to drive still.
If Aston Martin endure an uꦡncompeti🐈tive year and Alonso feels that it’s the right time to end his F1 career, a vacancy could open for Sainz.
Similarly, if Stroll’s form is similarly poor to 2023, he might decide enough is enough and move into other 🉐motorsport disciplines.
Less lik�꧂�ely than the aforementioned three teams but certainly possible.
Williams
Gi𝔍ven it’s highly likely that Mercedes will consider Alex Albon as a potential replacement for Hamilton if they decide against going for Sainz, Williams could be on the cards for Sainz.
While it would be a substantial step back, Williams ꦆare on the rise again after they finished seventh in the 2023 F1 constructors’ championship.
Under James Vo🍸wles, there finally seems💦 to be light at the end of the tunnel for the Grove outfit.
Admittedly, a switch to Williams for a dri𝄹ver of Sainz’s calibre would be underwhelming, and probably a last resort.
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversiཧes and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of ou𝔉r unbiased reporting.
