Carlos Sainz “Doesn’t Bring Any Money”, Ex-Ferrari Boss Delivers Realistic Take on Red Bull Move

Sergio Perez is quite the lucky man. Before he came into the team, Red Bull was frantically looking for a perfect teammate for Max Verstappen. Checo came into the mix at the exact right time when Red Bull came up with a championship-contending car, the RB16B in 2021. Since then he has helped the team win 2 back-to-back Constructors’ Championships while Verstappen keeps racking up the drivers’ titles. Another great thing about Perez is that he brings in a ton of sponsorship money to the team from Mexico, so it has been a win-win situation for Red Bull so far.

However, with his current contract coming to an end in 2024, and Ferrari catching up to the RB20 in a hurry, Red Bull has been looking for an upgrade in terms of Verstappen’s teammate. Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda, and the reserve driver, Liam Lawson, have been the prime candidates to replace Checo up until now, with the Aussie having the favor of the team boss, Christian Horner. But Ricciardo’s recent form has forced Red Bull’s hands to look outside their own pool. And the one driver that has impressed in 2024 the most as of now, is the Ferrari man, Carlos Sainz, who himself is going out of contract in 2024.

The only problem is that Sainz won’t bring a ton of money to Red Bull as Checo does, and that is something the former Ferrari boss, Peter Windsor, spoke about in his recent live chat on YouTube. “He [Sergio Perez] was pretty hopeless in the race [in Australia] wasn’t he? He should have beaten at least one if not two McLarens in a Red Bull,” Peter emphasized. “Let’s face it, but he didn’t and so that was disappointing. But then you look at it from the other side of the point of view.”

“He’s finished second in the other two races, he’s probably going to win a race or two this year he brings quite a lot of money from Mexico. He knows the team, Max is happy with him, and therefore Adrian’s happy with him as a number two and he does quite good work with the sponsors back at the factory. Now Carlos is probably quicker, but probably doesn’t bring any money with him,“ he added.

But Red Bull will have to consider their options carefully because if Ferrari came up with a rocketship next year for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, they might not be able to keep up with the Ferrari duo just with Verstappen.

Christian Horner is considering Carlos Sainz despite the obvious monetary disadvantage

Despite coming from a fresh appendix removal surgery just a couple of weeks ago, Carlos Sainz left everyone mightily impressed with his performance in Australia. Horner, who is already on the lookout for a worthy partner for Max Verstappen, was no exception, the Brit was left in awe of the Spaniard’s form.

Speaking to the media after the race about the second Red Bull seat, Horner said, “Yuki’s a very quick driver, we know that. But we want to field the best pairing that we can at Red Bull Racing and sometimes you’ve got to look outside the pool as well. You’ve had a very fast unemployed driver win the race so the market is reasonably fluid with certain drivers.” Picking up on the obvious hint, the media asked if Horner would be willing to take back Carlos Sainz. In response, Horner simply said, “Based on a performance like that, you couldn’t rule any possibility out.“

READ MORE: Carlos Sainz Sitting Out 2025 Season May Be Good for Spaniard, Ex-Ferrari Boss Claims

Will Christian Horner be willing to let go of the monetary gains Checo brings for a more competitive teammate for Verstappen? What are your thoughts on the matter?