‘Mercedes Will Make Carlos Sainz a Multi-Year Contract Offer’, Says Jos Verstappen’s Former Manager

As the days pass, F1’s silly season intensifies. And Carlos Sainz is the man of the hour. Mercedes, Audi, Red Bull, and Aston Martin are flocking for his racing services for 2025. Out of these 4 teams, Red Bull and Mercedes seem to be his best options, in terms of pace. But with Christian Horner & Co. still standing with Sergio Perez, RB might be closed for contention.

This shifts the focus entirely onto the Silver Arrows’ Team Principal Toto Wolff’s next move. With a driver of the caliber of Lewis Hamilton gone, Carlos Sainz outshines the other ‘jobless’ drivers for the prized 2025 seat alongside George Russell. Moreover, Frans Verschuur, the former manager of Max Verstappen’s father Jos Verstappen believes that Toto Wolff’s plan to sign the Ferrari driver might already be in motion.

“I think Mercedes will make him (Sainz) an offer, but that has to be a multi-year contract,” Frans Verschuur emphasized in the Aan Tafel podcast, as quoted by F1maximaal. “Since Lewis signed (for Ferrari), I think he’s (Sainz) a tenth faster. He thinks: why do I get out? That plays in the head of a driver, especially with Sainz as well. That’s a tenth he takes out of anger. He’s doing very well, he comes across as very mature,” he concluded.

The Dutch manager seems sure of a Sainz-Russell pairing for 2025. What supports his claim is another F1 expert’s view on why Sainz’s path to a Red Bull seat should be closed.

Carlos Sainz gets discouraged from joining Max Verstappen at Red Bull

The Spanish driver is a Red Bull talent, like Daniel Ricciardo. These two, along with Max Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat, were Toro Rosso’s golden finds back in the day. In 2015, Sainz and Verstappen were teammates in the RB junior team but there was quite some friction between the duo. That exactly is the reason why L’Equipe Journalist Fred Ferret believes a repeat of 2015 is feared.

“He knows that, if he comes back, he will have to meet once again Max Verstappen,” Ferret said on the F1 Nation podcast. “You know how it ended in 2015! I am pretty sure that Carlos is clever enough to know that it’s impossible to beat Max on this team. He knows, in that car, he may be able to win races but he won’t be able to go against Max. It’s better to go for another thing.”

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

Sainz has already driven for 4 teams in F1, will the Silver Arrows be his 5th?