Since it was recently confirmed that Ferrari will rely on Lewis Hamilton as Charles Leclerc’s partner from 2025, there has been a lot of speculation about the future of Carlos Sainz, who is entering his final year at the Scuderia. Where does the Spaniard’s path lead? A Formula 1 insider has identified a “very good place” for the veteran.
The silly season in Formula 1 has long since begun. Actually, the period in which driver rumors are rampant doesn’t start until the summer break, but the already announced move from Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari next season has changed everything.
Because at Mercedes a lucrative cockpit will be available from 2025. In addition, Red Bull will probably be looking for a new colleague for Max Verstappen next year, as the contract of the inconsistent Sergio Pérez is expiring. Not to mention that a double-digit number of driver contracts are only valid for the current season.
Carlos Sainz is unexpectedly in the middle of it all. In January, all observers assumed that Ferrari would extend the contract with the Spaniard. It is now clear that Sainz has to make room for Hamilton. So where next for the 29-year-old? Sainz has already been traded at Mercedes and Red Bull, and the Sauber racing team is also a recurring topic.
And that’s exactly where former Formula 1 driver Anthony Davidson sees the Spanish veteran. About a possible move to the Swiss team, which will be taken over by the German car maker Audi from 2026, Davidson said during the F1 test drives: “I believe he will go there.”
Sauber, which starts this season as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, is “a very good place for an experienced, professional racing driver like him to build a new team,” said the former F1 driver. “It’s still Sauber of course, but there will be new people in this team who want to leave their own mark in Formula 1 and I think he is a brilliant driver who can help guide the ambitions and to rate.”
Formula 1: Sainz soon as team leader?
Sainz proved at Ferrari what an excellent driver he was, on and off the track. “When the strategy sometimes falters a little, he is always there to keep people on the ground.” In this way, the Spaniard could be “a support, a driver who speaks with authority” in the upcoming Audi project.
It is precisely these skills that could “play a big role” at Audi, where Sainz could help prepare the team for factory entry and would then be team leader from 2026.
In any case, many fans at Ferrari will be sad to see Sainz go, Davidson suspected, but added: “But when Lewis Hamilton knocks on the door, it’s hard not to open it.”