Carlos Sainz is facing a new and important stage in his sporting career with his move to Williams in 2025. More mature, responsible for what he has in his hands and the opportunities that may come his way in the future, he knows that he is in the best shape of his career. And that, of course, is not only known within his team, where they want to take him to the top positions… but also at Red Bull.
Carlos Sainz emerges as Red Bull’s first choice if Verstappen leaves
The Red Bull team has just dismissed Christian Horner, its director for the last 20 years, and now the question is whether the future will involve Max Verstappen or whether the team will take a different direction if the Dutchman decides to leave.
That is why, in his case, if Verstappen finally decides to sign for Mercedes and try his luck, the first driver that Red Bull will consider calling to replace the four-time world champion is Carlos Sainz. This would not be entirely new, as the Madrid native was already an option last year when Sergio Pérez was still up in the air. However, Sainz opted for a new future at Williams.
But that could be different now. And for no other reason than that things have changed compared to a year ago. The main thing is that Sainz would not be Verstappen’s teammate, but would take his place, which is very important and worth considering. He would be the main asset of the Milton Keynes structure, Red Bull’s leader for the coming years.
Mekies wants Sainz to lead Red Bull’s new project with Ford
Mercedes’ interest in the Hessalt driver has always been there, but right now it seems closer than ever, and if it’s going to happen, it could be now. The decline of the Bulls has been drastic, and there is even talk of new names for their seat. According to reports from Austria, the new management team led by Laurent Mekies wants Carlos Sainz to lead Red Bull’s new project with Ford from 2026. In fact, Carlos Sainz, like Verstappen, was part of the Red Bull program even before joining Formula 1 in 2025.
With them, he took all the necessary steps from karting school, through the training categories and formulas – he preferred not to take Formula 2 at the time and instead compete in the World Series, the equivalent of today’s F2 – where he won most of the championships. This led him to Toro Rosso, now Racing Bulls, where he was Max Verstappen’s teammate in 2015 and the first half of 2016.
Sainz’s talent and ability to build teams
“I think everyone is having a really hard time being Verstappen’s teammate,” Sainz said this week, something totally different from how he felt. “I can only say that when I was Max’s teammate, I didn’t have such a bad time.” Far from being discouraged, he has confessed that it has helped him in hindsight. “He’ll probably be one of the best in history, if he isn’t already. That first year together, since then, has given me the confidence to know that I can take on anyone.”
“I’ve been teammates with Leclerc, Norris, and Hulkenberg. I think I’ve been teammates with very fast drivers, probably the best in the sport. So that makes me want to keep competing against the best… I know I can do it and I know I’ve been successful in the past,” Carlos said on the High Performance podcast.
At the time, it also emerged that although Sainz was left out last year when Carlos wanted to define his future with Williams, it was Verstappen himself who put a kind of ‘veto’ on the arrival of the Madrid-born driver, as everything indicated that the Dutchman preferred to keep Sergio Pérez rather than another young driver from Red Bull, such as Lawson or Tsunoda, teammates who would not make things difficult for him.
The Spanish driver, who signed a multi-year contract with Williams until 2025, reiterated at the time that his relationship with the champion would “not be a problem” if they were to share a team. Although now he could have a clearer path ahead without Max at his side. “At Toro Rosso, we were 16 and 19 years old. Now, we have become much more mature. At Toro Rosso, they put you in a team and tell you: ‘Fight each other and we’ll see who’s the best.
However, Red Bull is aware of how important it would be for the team to have Sainz if the champion decides to go in a different direction. Sainz’s talent and ability to build teams, as he has done in all his adventures, would be very productive for the energy drink company. Perhaps Verstappen’s departure is not the worst news for Red Bull.