Carlos Sainz thinks he would be a good teammate for Max Verstappen at Red Bull.
The Spaniard will be replaced at Ferrari next year by Lewis Hamilton, and only teams like Williams, Audi-owned Sauber and Alpine have made clear moves to sign him for 2025 and beyond.
Sainz's father, rally legend Carlos Sainz senior, has a strong relationship with Audi and its owner Volkswagen.
"He told me a thousand times how good they would be," Sainz told Auto Motor und Sport today.
“It is 100% sure that Audi will be strong in the future. I wanted to help build something, but I also wanted good results in the short term, and in my opinion Williams was the best option.”
“But it wasn't an easy decision. Until the day I signed, there were several good options. In the end, I had to follow my instinct.”
“Time will tell if I was right.”
Sainz would clearly have preferred to join another top team, and rumors were swirling of a return to the Red Bull family – having made his debut at Toro Rosso in 2015.
Dr Helmut Marko, however, said several months ago that he feared a reunion of the Sainz-Verstappen duo would be too explosive.
Sainz rejects this theory.
“If my relationship with Max is the reason I didn't end up there, then I say there wouldn't have been any problems. If the decision came down to that alone, then it would just be an error.”
“But I already told them that. I think I would get on well with Max. We were 16 and 19 at the time and have matured a lot since then. At Toro Rosso they put you in a team and say 'beat “you against each other, then whoever is best goes to Red Bull.”
“You don't work together for the championship, otherwise the behavior of the two drivers would completely change. You can see it with Charles (Leclerc) and Lando (Norris), my last two teammates. There have never been any problems.”
There is no doubt, however, that Verstappen is a very dominant force not only at Red Bull Racing, but also in Formula 1 in general.
The Dutchman's personality is also much more assertive. During a live stream in the hours after the 2025 F1 season was announced at London's O2 Arena, for example, Verstappen boldly declared: “I hope I’ll be sick that week.”.
Sainz, however, believes that much of the image of a driver in F1 is “external”.
“Inside, a driver can look very different. As a driver, you are always playing with how you are perceived from the outside.”
“I don't want to say that Max isn't the way he is. Lando decided to reveal a little more about himself. I don't know if I'm somewhere in between or more in one direction, but – as I said – you have to be careful with this kind of analysis.”
