Carlos Sainz appears more likely to join Audi-owned Sauber than to return to the Red Bull family next year, according to insights from Red Bull's influential Austrian F1 advisor, Dr Helmut Marko. He does, however, admit to "talking to him" about Sainz's next move away from Ferrari.
"He is having his strongest season in Formula 1," remarked Marko, who initially introduced Sainz to F1 through Red Bull's junior program. The 29-year-old Spaniard has since moved from Red Bull to stints at Renault, McLaren, and most recently Ferrari, though Ferrari has not renewed his contract beyond 2024. Sainz is now being considered for positions at Audi, Mercedes, and possibly even Red Bull as a potential replacement for Sergio Perez.
"It is clear that Checo (Perez) is currently having his best season since he joined us," observed Marko. "If he can maintain these performances, like qualifying in Japan, then he is certainly our best option for 2025." He further added, "He is a hard worker and has now also realised that the radically individual path he chose last year in terms of setup was wrong. Now the car is closer to Max's setup and that has helped him."
Consequently, there doesn't seem to be a spot available for Sainz at Red Bull Racing. "We're talking to him," Marko noted, "but he has a very lucrative offer from Audi that we can't match or beat." He also commented on past decisions, noting, "We know him from the Toro Rosso days, but it hurt him a lot when we put our faith in Verstappen rather than him."
Regarding Daniel Ricciardo, Marko admitted that the 34-year-old former Red Bull race winner was once a candidate to take over from Perez in 2025. However, Marko now suggests that Yuki Tsunoda is currently performing better, having Ricciardo "under control" this season at RB. "The requirement for Daniel was that he had to be clearly faster than Yuki if he wanted to have any hope of securing a seat at Red Bull," explained Marko. "That hasn't been the case so far, even though it was close in Japan."
"We'll see how that develops," Marko added cautiously. Should the situation not improve for Ricciardo, Marko hasn't dismissed the possibility of replacing him mid-season. "We have a strong driver in Liam Lawson as reserve driver," Marko highlighted, "and he is contractually entitled to drive for another team if he doesn't get a cockpit with us in 2025." He concluded, "In this respect, it would of course be exciting for us if we could see him in Formula 1 this year so that we can get an even clearer picture. But that's a complex topic, so we'll have to wait and see how it develops."
