Having overcome the logical depression that came when he learned that Ferrari was going to dispense with him next year to hire Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz has done exactly what he had to do: show that the Scuderia, once again, either its sights are averted or it remains gripped by the internal political plots that have prevented it from celebrating a title since the one that Kimi Raikkonen won, on the rebound, almost two decades ago (2007). Of the four grand prix held so far this year, Max Verstappen has won three. The other went to Sainz, in Australia, where he achieved the most difficult one, still recovering from the appendicitis operation that he had undergone 15 days before. On the verge of the fifth stop on the calendar, which takes place this Sunday in Shanghai (09:00, Dazn), the Spaniard occupies fourth place in the general table, with only four points less than Charles Leclerc (third), his workshop neighbor on the red racing team. The margin in favor of the Monegasque is explained only by the absence of Sainz in Saudi Arabia, where he missed the race having to undergo emergency surgery. In the other three races he finished ahead of Leclerc.
The Madrid native has been showing his best version for a long time, the one that makes him the only one capable of winning despite not being in a Red Bull. In addition to Melbourne, he also achieved it last season, in Singapore. And there is no better time than now to release it, given that it is now that the grid for the future in the short and medium term is being drawn up. At 29 years old, Sainz still does not know where he will race in 2025, but his priorities can be intuited. The main one, getting behind the wheel of the most competitive prototype among those available. Everything else becomes secondary. The driver has long had a firm offer from Audi, which last month completed the acquisition process of Sauber, and which plans to debut as a manufacturer in the Formula 1 World Championship in 2026. Until then, the Hinwil structure will compete as It currently does so, a circumstance that raises some doubts about the competitiveness of the 2025 car.
At this point, Sauber occupies the penultimate place in the statistics reserved for constructors, while Guanyu Zhou and Valtteri Bottas are 16th and 20th, respectively, in the racers category. Despite pressure from Audi, which presented Sainz with a deadline that had already expired weeks ago, EL PAÍS understands that the silence on both sides indicates that the son of the two-time world rally champion (1990 and 1002) has decided to take a chance. to try to get a Red Bull or a Mercedes. A declaration of intentions that involves a risk, which the boy is willing to take. Fernando Alonso’s renewal with Aston Martin, announced last week, and the fact that the Asturian’s partner is Lance Stroll, the son of the owner of the Silverstone team (Great Britain), makes it difficult to imagine a Spanish duo in the garage of green cars.
“My best alternatives are still open, and that is positive. Given the market situation, we have to wait a little for (the teams) to decide. In recent weeks nothing has changed,” says Sainz, from China. “The uncertainty is not affecting my performance, but the sooner you get all that out of your head, the better,” adds the still Ferrari driver.
If Audi is in a hurry, Red Bull and Mercedes take it calmly to choose who will accompany Verstappen and George Russell. According to Helmut Marko, one of the key figures in the red buffalo brand, the “lucrative” offer that Audi has made to Sainz makes it difficult for him to return to the company that made him debut in F1, in Toro Rosso (2015), precisely. next to the current champion. “We are talking to Carlos, who is completing his best season in F1. But he has a very lucrative offer from Audi, which we cannot match,” warned Marko, who plays his cards but already knows that the economic element would never be an obstacle for Sainz, who has decided to give more relevance to speed than to speed. checkbook
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