Red Bull’s decision to overlook Carlos Sainz in the 2024 driver market was met with plenty of criticism. As Liam Lawson prepares to become Max Verstappen’s teammate, Christian Horner explains that Sainz could still be an option in the future.
Why Carlos Sainz’ future has many possibilities
After an impressive stint at Ferrari, Sainz might have hoped for more than a Williams seat in 2025.
Unfortunately for the Spaniard, contracts at front-running teams like Mercedes and Red Bull did not materialise.
For Mercedes, it was a reluctance to offer Sainz a multi-year deal that meant an agreement fell through.
However, the logic behind Red Bull’s decision-making is slightly different. On paper, Sainz was a perfectly viable option for the Milton Keynes squad.
Having competed at a similar level to Charles Leclerc for several years, Sainz could have plausibly been a very strong teammate for Max Verstappen.
Considering Red Bull’s failure to put someone competitive alongside the Dutchman since 2018, overlooking the 29-year-old was a head-scratcher for many.
Team principal Christian Horner has explained some of the logic behind choosing Lawson as Perez’s successor:
“Carlos [Sainz] is a great driver, and options still remain open with him in the future,” racingnews365 quotes him as saying.
“He was considered, and in many aspects, you’d say there was a real logic [to] Carlos.
“But we made the choice to look internally and put belief in the junior programme. That attracts more juniors, because they see a pathway to Formula 1.
“If we’d gone outside the programme, that is not sending the right message.”
Uncertainty for 2026 and beyond
On paper, Carlos Sainz has a multi-year contract for Williams. Despite the British team’s underwhelming 2024 campaign, Sainz is committed to the project at Grove.
Of course, this does not mean he will overlook better options for his career.
Should an established front-runner like Red Bull pursue his services, Sainz will at least consider their offer.
In many ways, the driver situation at Red Bull is not fully resolved. Liam Lawson’s performance over the coming 12 months will be essential in shaping the driver market.
Should the 22-year-old meet Christian Horner and Helmut Marko’s expectations, the situation at the Austrian team will stabilise.
With that said, there is also a scenario where the Kiwi struggles to contribute in a hotly contested constructors battle.
Lawson could hardly be blamed if he doesn’t adapt quickly, considering the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris will become his immediate rivals.
Regardless, Lawson’s progress at Red Bull will inform whether the Austrian outfit look elsewhere on the grid. Should his abilities be deemed insufficient, then someone like Carlos Sainz would be a natural target.
Then again, there is no guarantee that Sainz will jump to any opportunity to join Red Bull.
With the 2026 regulations around the corner, it is possible that Williams could take a huge step forward under James Vowles. There are a lot of unknowns surrounding Red Bull’s new power unit.
Because of this, as is often the case in F1, making predictions is extremely difficult.
What is clear, though, is that unexpected changes can happen quickly. As evidenced over the last twelve months, the ever-evolving driver market is capable of producing big surprises.
