{"id":22011,"date":"2024-07-15T08:14:05","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T12:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=22011"},"modified":"2024-07-15T08:14:05","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T12:14:05","slug":"why-carlos-sainz-is-playing-the-waiting-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/07\/15\/why-carlos-sainz-is-playing-the-waiting-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Carlos Sainz is playing the waiting game"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carlos Sainz still hasn’t committed to a team for 2025 despite months of speculation. The Spaniard has taken no shortage of risk this year, avoiding the temptation to rush a decision and sign a contract early. However, Sainz could be waiting too long to agree on a deal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Sainz forced to adjust after missing out on top seats<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At the beginning of the season, Sainz was linked to the top teams. Specifically, the 29-year-old was mentioned as a potential target for Mercedes – still searching for a Lewis Hamilton replacement.<\/p>\n

A return to Red Bull was also seen as a possibility, especially as Sergio Perez’s form faltered<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Sainz, these paths are no longer realistic. Mercedes are committed to Kimi Antonelli<\/a>, who is seen as the team’s future.<\/p>\n

Even if the Silver Arrows were to offer Sainz a contract, it would likely be a short-term contract. After losing his Ferrari<\/a> seat unexpectedly, spending next year as a placeholder<\/strong> is certainly not Sainz’s preference.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Red Bull’s decision to keep Perez is proving to have been incorrect.<\/p>\n

However, partly due to past tensions with Verstappen whilst they were Toro Rosso teammates, Red Bull are reluctant to seriously consider Sainz.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The waiting game continues for Carlos Sainz<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Because of these unfavourable circumstances<\/strong>, Sainz’s only options are in the midfield. For a long time, Williams and Sauber<\/a> were the favourites to land a deal.<\/p>\n

Indeed, when Sainz declared at the Spanish GP that he would make a final decision, he was expected to join Williams.<\/p>\n

However, the situation changed once again. Flavio Briatore’s appointment as executive director at Alpine has captured his attention.<\/p>\n

As mentioned previously on LWOS, Alpine are considering a switch to Mercedes engines<\/a> for the 2026 regulations.<\/p>\n

This would be a significant change in direction from team Enstone, who would essentially be giving away their manufacturer status.<\/p>\n

Regardless of whether this is the correct path, Alpine’s shift is why Sainz has yet to silence the speculation and reach a decision<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In the eyes of many, this hesitance is only counter-productive.<\/p>\n

James Vowles has stated that Williams cannot wait indefinitely<\/a> for a response.<\/p>\n

Inevitably, the longer a driver waits before putting pen to paper, the greater the risk of teams moving on and doors closing.<\/p>\n

Despite this reality, Carlos Sainz seems to have enough confidence in his value to continue playing this high-risk game<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carlos Sainz still hasn’t committed to a team for 2025 despite months of speculation. The Spaniard has taken no shortage of risk this year, avoiding the temptation to rush a decision and sign a contract early. However, Sainz could be waiting too long to agree on a deal. Sainz forced to adjust after missing out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":21940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[2220,343,68,84],"class_list":["post-22011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-2024-formula-1-season","tag-carlos-sainz","tag-f1","tag-ferrari"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}