Big Blow to Carlos Sainz’s Future as Ralf Schumacher Claims Audi “Won’t Work” Unless the Situation at Sauber Changes

Carlos Sainz Jr will be out of a contract as soon as this year ends. While there are rumors of him joining Audi in 2026, many questions come up about what will he be doing in 2025. Ferrari dumped him for Lewis Hamilton and now without a seat for 2025, many questions have started to pop up. Where will we go before Audi? Will he even go to Audi?

Let’s say that he does decide to follow in his father’s footsteps and drives for Audi–questions about whether the team will be good enough have started to surface. Currently known as Stake F1, the team has not done so well so far in the 2024 season. And the team did not really show results as Alfa Romeo either. Ralf Schumacher, the former F1 driver, and current sports expert, shared some insight that Stake F1 can take into consideration before the Audi takeover comes through.

Ralf Schumacher’s advice to Audi

Ralf Schumacher has been away from the tracks for a while now, but that does not keep him away from the sport. The brother of the 7-time world champion is now a full-time journalist and expert on the sport. Recently, he was called in by Sports1 to discuss the events happening in F1 at the moment. After discussing the Christian Horner incident and the Lewis Hamilton-Ferrari transfer, he was asked about Audi’s entry to the grid.

Sport1 asked the question, “How important was it for Audi to now fully commit to Formula 1 with the acquisition of 100 percent of the Sauber shares?” To this, the German replied, “Very important. We can see how bad the Renault subsidiary Alpine is performing right now.” After explaining the importance of committing to the team, Schumacher drew a parallel to Alpine, who is having an equally difficult season.

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The former driver continued, “But Sauber, the future Audi team, is hardly better. That’s why it’s important to turn the right screws right now.” He then spoke about the project manager of Sauber and stated, “Project manager Andi Seidl has to sweep through the factory in Switzerland with the iron broom, otherwise, it won’t work with the neighbor.” According to Schumacher, the team needs to put in a lot of work before Audi can take over and be successful. That being said, Carlos Sainz Jr, who is set to join the team his father drives for, has bad news for 2026.

Does it make sense for Carlos Sainz Jr. to join Audi in 2026?

Sure, a possible sentence to start this paragraph could be to talk about Carlos Sainz and Audi, but let’s start differently by discussing the approach to doing things before being ready for them. Carlos Sainz going to Audi before the team is ready would feel like he has taken a bite from a raw fruit. Sainz is currently 29 years old and by the time Audi will show up on the grid, he will be in his 30s.

That being said, he does not have too much time left to win the world championship, which has been something on his mind since he joined the sport. Sainz shows promise with his driving, even more so after the 2024 Bahrain GP. And for him to join a team that is not ready for him, might be a waste of potential race wins considering he does not have much time before he will need to retire. And even less time before his peak reflects start to dim out.

With that said, do you think Carlos Sainz Jr joining Audi in 2026 will be a good idea? If so, support your claim in the comments below.

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