Stating that Red Bull is “run by the Verstappen family”, Damon Hill fears that Carlos Sainz will have a wonderful drive next season and believes it is a “travesty”.
Ferrari dropped out even before the first race of this season in favour of the signing of Lewis Hamilton, Sainz the star of the 2024 F1 championship.
With 3 podiums in 3 starts, he is the only rider with a record of 100 consistent with the first podium, one of them thanks to his victory at the Australian Grand Prix with the Spaniard on the most sensible step of the podium 16 days after an appendectomy.
His P1 result on Sunday means he remains the only non-Red Bull driver to win a Grand Prix since George Russell at the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix.
And despite a weekend absence, he is only 4 points behind Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ standings.
Experts and enthusiasts alike are baffled by the position Sainz is in: eight months into a new year and still a seat for 2025.
The Spaniard, however, is short of options, at least according to F1 rumours, with Red Bull and Mercedes competing alongside Audi, the latter of which is now the Sauber team.
But while Karun Chandhok says it would be a “shame” if the 29-year-old ended up at the back of the grid, Hill called it a “travesty”.
The 1996 world champion told Sky Sports: “I think it would be a real farce if Carlos Sainz didn’t finish in the top team next year. He deserves to be part of a wonderful team. “
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But when asked about the best team that would sign Sainz, Hill admitted that the driver’s characteristics are limited because Verstappen’s family “runs” Red Bull, so unless Sainz is willing to hire a winger, it’s not an option.
“What’s available? Mercedes is the obvious solution,” Hill said. “With Red Bull, I don’t see how it’s going to work with Max there. “
“The team is run by the Verstappen family, it’s their team.
“I don’t see anyone being allowed . . . unless he’s willing to be the smart number two, but Checo is doing a smart job in that role as well. “
Although Verstappen has largely been linked with a move to Mercedes, there are rumours that he is dissatisfied with Red Bull’s internal politics amid the Christian Horner investigation, the Dutchman himself has said he is “happy” with his current team.
After all, Red Bull has the fastest on the grid.
This has caused Toto Wolff to admit that this will probably be Verstappen’s only criterion, a fast car, as he makes a long-term decision and at the moment Mercedes cannot supply it.
But according to Giedo van der Garde, unless Verstappen joins Mercedes, Sainz won’t have to leave for Red Bull because he would be too “annoying” for the team to drive.
As such, it now turns out that Stake/Sauber/Audi is Sainz’s likely maximum destination.
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