NEWS. . . BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Carlos Sainz is in talks with Red Bull to upgrade Sergio Perez in 2025, Formula 1 leader Helmut Marko has confirmed.
With Sir Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari in 2025, Sainz is expected to be a free agent at the end of the year, but after a brilliant start to the season, he has plenty of options.
The Spaniard has been linked with Audi, who will take over the Sauber team in 2026, and Mercedes, but after his victory in Australia, Christian Horner warned he could sign the three-time race winner for Red Bull.
Perez is also out of contract and Red Bull would prefer to keep the Mexican along with Max Verstappen, last year’s disappointing performances have shattered his credentials.
Daniel Ricciardo, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have also been connected to the seat, but Sainz’s form has been one to forget and the 29-year-old arrived via the Red Bull academy, making his F1 debut with its junior team in 2015. . alongside Verstaeppen.
Discussing the rumours ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, Marko, head of Red Bull’s driver progression programme, let slip that there had been talks with Sainz, while claiming they were the favourites to sign him.
He told Austrian media: “We communicated to him that he is having his most productive season in Formula 1, but he has a very lucrative offer from Audi and we cannot accept him or beat him.
“We spent his time at Toro Rosso when he was driving alongside Max. However, it hurt him a lot that we at Red Bull chose Verstappen and not him.
Sainz saw his chances reduced for 2025 after Fernando Alonso extended his contract with Aston Martin, but he remains calm and confident about his future, saying: “I think for sure all my most productive roles are still open, and that’s a positive thing. “thing.
“It will take some time for everyone to shape their own reviews and make decisions, but the right features are open.
“When I said we had talked to one and both, one and both teams, I mean one and both, one and both teams. So that’s what I meant when I said that the right features in terms of winning leading cars are available. There, and as I said, it all depends on the trade-offs of the offers and what each one offers.
Pérez, for his part, had said in the past that he expected a decision on his future to be made until the end of April, but in China he admitted that many candidates were competing for his candidacy.
“Well, every week changes. . . the contenders. But that’s normal. I think until things are signed, each and every one of them is a competitor. . . even you!” he told a Sky Sports reporter.
I think we’ve been here together for a couple of years and I think the verbal exchange will be pretty quick to know where we’re going.
“And I think we all need to move on, so I would expect it to be a matter of time. I think given the evolution of the market, things are falling into place a lot faster than we all would have liked, but that’s how the game is going right now.
And talks have progressed with Sainz, Marko admitting that the 34-year-old is still the favourite to keep his motivation alive, adding: “It’s clear that Checo [Perez] is having his most productive season lately since he’s been with Sainz. . we.
“If he achieves that performance, especially in qualifying in Japan, then he will definitely be the most productive option for Red Bull in 2025. “
“He’s a team player and now he’s realised that his radical technique in terms of set-up last year wasn’t right. He now has a much more similar set-up to Max’s.
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