Carlos Sainz might have a Milton-Keynes address next year! As of now, the Spaniard has not revealed any plan for his future following his Ferrari exit after this season. But a reserve role at Red Bull remains one of his many options. Currently, Liam Lawson is the reserve RBR racer who will perhaps get Daniel Ricciardo’s seat at Red Bull’s sister team, VCARB. Thus, Ricciardo might be relegated to a reserve role, and with him, Carlos Sainz Jr. can serve in the same capacity too.

Sainz comes from a racing family in Spain as his father, Carlos Sainz Sr., is a rally driver. The 62-year-old is still active on the race track where he won his latest Dakar Rally in 2024 with Red Bull. Owing to his longtime connection to the Austrian team, Carlos Sainz Sr. has quite an influence on its decision-makers. Hence, former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan believes the rally racer can convince Red Bull to offer his son a job as a reserve driver.

Now, Carlos Sainz Jr. has already been a part of the Red Bull junior program in 2010. The first time he had driven an F1 car was when he participated in a test for Red Bull with the RB9. In fact, the #55 racer had started his career in the pinnacle of motorsports with a seat at Toro Rosso, the sister team of Red Bull. But he walked out of the Red Bull umbrella for Renault later on. And then, he moved to McLaren. After spending two years with the papaya army, Sainz got a job offer at Ferrari where he has stayed till now.

In January 2024, the Scuderia announced they would sign Lewis Hamilton in Sainz’s place. Now, the Spaniard is on the lookout for a new team. As Ferrari is a top-3 team in the current grid, Sainz would want to move to a similar squad for 2025, but no such seat is available. Speaking on Carlos Sainz’s best bet, Eddie Jordan speculated on ‘Formula for Success’, saying, “Carlos Sr. is a Red Bull driver, and has won so many Dakars, and remember, Carlos Jr. started off as a Red Bull driver. So, would it now be better for him to go in as a reserve driver for Red Bull? Because that’s the more obvious one.”

Jordan believes, Sainz can survive a season as the Red Bull reserve driver, he might get Sergio Perez’s seat. But what has made the Irishman think the Milton-Keynes outfit will get rid of Perez despite the Mexican’s 2-year contract with them?

Eddie Jordan thinks keeping Sergio Perez can hurt Red Bull’s funds

Red Bull signed an extension on its existing contract with Sergio Perez on June 4 of this year. However, in 2024, he has not won a single race as opposed to his teammate Max Verstappen getting 7 Grand Prix victories. Perez currently holds the fifth rank in the World Championship while the Dutchman leads the table. Due to this disparity, Eddie Jordan wants RBR to oust the Mexican since he can hurt the team’s World Constructors’ Championship chances.

Talking about Carlos Sainz possibly replacing Perez, Eddie Jordan said, “How long can Red Bull continue with Checo in the current situation? I mean, think about that, because, at the moment, Red Bull is fighting for the Constructors’ Championship because that’s where the real money is.” If Sergio Perez does not improve his game, Ferrari, who is only 64 points behind Red Bull, can usurp the Austrian team to take the Championship lead and the prize money that comes with it.

However, the game is not over for Checo yet. He will get a chance to outperform Max next week in Britain. The Silverstone GP is around the corner, and if Sergio Perez grabs a win to impress the Red Bull stakeholders, he might stay with the team longer. But as of now, the situation seems dire as the Austrian outfit can activate a performance clause in their contract and demote Perez to their sister team, VCARB, just like it did with Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon.

So, does Checo have it in him to fight for his seat at Red Bull by winning a race soon? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.