Carlos Sainz’s Manager Drops Cryptic Deadline on Spaniard’s Seat for 2025

Is Carlos Sainz any closer to getting his future secured in Formula 1? Given how Sainz has performed at Ferrari since joining the team in 2021, it was only natural to expect that he would get a contract extension beyond 2024. However, almost out of nowhere, Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari announced that they would join forces in 2025. Since then, Sainz and his team have been on the hunt to find a new race seat for the next season.

Carlos Oñoro, the manager for Carlos Sainz, recently dropped a cryptic clue on how far along they are in their bid to find that perfect race seat. Even before the start of the season, Sainz seemed to have plenty of options available to him considering what he has achieved with Ferrari. He was instantly linked with Sauber, which would soon become Audi’s works team, thanks to his dad’s connection with the German manufacturer.

However, with almost a dozen drivers going out of contract at the end of 2024, Carlos Sainz didn’t want to rush the decision to sign a new contract. With the way he is performing in 2024, it’s safe to say that most teams would want to have him in their cars. But Sainz would definitely be aiming for one of the top teams, like Mercedes or Red Bull.

Aston Martin was another option for the Spaniard, but Fernando Alonso shut that door for Sainz by signing a multi-year extension with the Silverstone-based team. With only two spots available at the top teams, one at Mercedes and one at Red Bull, Sainz needs to make a decision quickly. And his manager recently gave us some updates about the contract talks in his appearance on the ‘F1 Nation’ podcast.

When asked by host Tom Clarkson about the options they have available for Carlos Sainz, his manager said, “A few! A few! Let’s say it’s an interesting period of time at the moment. The driver market has been all over the place lately and I think we will see some movements in the upcoming weeks. But for the moment, the juggling continues.”

Clarkson then asked if they could expect to hear some news before the Miami Grand Prix. To which Carlos Oñoro responded by saying, “No! You can sleep well between China and Miami, don’t worry. There will be no big news. at least, coming from us. For sure, not. We’re still playing the game so we’ll see.”

With the driver’s market starting to take shape after Alonso’s move, what is the best possible next move for Carlos?

Carlos Sainz has been tipped to sit out of the 2025 Formula 1 season

While Sainz still may have options available at Mercedes and Red Bull, Former Ferrari boss Peter Windsor has suggested that those options might not be well suited for the 29-year-old. Mercedes is only looking for a driver for the short term, as Toto Wolff wants to promote their prodigy, Kimi Antonelli, to Mercedes as soon as 2026, and Red Bull might continue with Sergio Perez based on his recent performances in 2024, leaving only Sauber as a realistic choice for Sainz.

However, Sauber is at the lower end of the mid-field right now, and it’s unlikely that they will improve as soon as Audi takes over in 2026. “If he [Carlos Sainz] does have to sort of write off 2025, in a way, that would be a good year for him to sort of rebuild his style a little bit and just capitalize on everything he’s just done,” Windsor said in a recent live chat on his YouTube channel. “I hope he does [sit out in 2025]… If he has a bad year in ’25 because there’s nowhere to go apart from a plug-in Mercedes drive or Sauber drive, then that would be a good year for him to rebuild some of his repertoire, actually.”

Do you think Carlos Sainz should take Windsor’s advice and take a year off from Formula 1? Share your insights in the comments below.