Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has addressed why 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Carlos Sainz was overlooked as a candidate to partner 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen.

On Wednesday it was confirmed that Red Bull and168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史: Sergio Perez had agreed to end their contract two years early following a dreadful 2024 season ꦰfor the Mexican.

Red Bull are yet to announce Perez’s replacement but 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Liam Lawson is expected to be promoted froꦿm the sister Racing Bulls team.

Sainz was available as a free agent earlier this year after 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton’s shock switch from Merc꧋edes to Ferrari was confirmed back in February, but 💎Red Bull chose not to sign the Spaniard, who has since joined Williams.

Four-time grand prix winner Sainz made his F1 debut alongside Verstappen at Red Bull’s sister team in 2015 but never got the opportunity to race fﷺor the senior squad and eventual♒ly left the brand.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after Perez’s departu🌱re from Red Bull was finally made o🗹fficial, Horner indicated the team’s reasoning for not considering Sainz.

“I think Carlos is a great driver and we’ve seen that obviously this yea♓r at some times,” Horner explained. “You’vꦗe got to look at all the various criteria and dynamics.

“At the point that we extended Checo’s contract you have to rไemember that he was second in the world championship and finishing on the podium in the first ꦫfour out of five races.

“At the time we signed [the deal] he’d had four podiums in five ra🗹ces so it was a logical extension just to remove speculation of which there was already too much around the team.”

Verstappen and Sainz were ꦿbelieved to have endured a fractious rela🌜tionship as teammates at Toro Rosso.

Earlier this year, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko claimed “the atmosphere between the two wa🐼s quite toxic”.

“Sainz is, without a doubt, a great driver,” Marko tol𒊎d Marca. “He was almost on par with Max in Toro Ross🅘o. The bad thing for him is that he was unlucky to have Verstappen as a team mate

“Th🌳e atmosphere between the two at Toro Rosso wa🔜s quite toxic. With the configuration we had then, I didn’t see a way to keep him with us, so Carlos went through Renault, McLaren and then he ended up at Ferrari.”

Sainz the ‘obvious, obvious candidate’

Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok🧸 told the broadcaster’s podcast that he “doesn’t understand” why Red Bull didn🉐’t sign Sainz.

“This thing of, Max doesn’t want him or the fꦯather’s don’t get along - come on, it’s been a deca🎉de! They are at completely different stages of their lives, Max is now a four-time world champion,” he continued.

“And really that deference to whether the dads don’t get on.. At the end of the day they’ve lost the constructors’ world championship because the second car wasn’t scoring as well as the second Ferrari or the second McLaren on anyꦜ given weeke🐎nd.

“You have to have the best two drivers and to me Carlos🌳 was the obvious, obvious candidate.”&nbs൲p;