How much longer can Carlos Sainz play this Game?

The saga continues but for how much longer...Sainz still delaying his next move after Ferrari is a very dangerous game to play. Will this pay off with a big move to Mercedes? A mid move to Williams or Alpine or the absolute disaster of being left out F1 entirely?
How much longer can Carlos Sainz play this Game?
#f1 #formula1 #formulaone #carlossainz #carlossainzjr #scuderiaferrari #f1news #austriangp #britishgp #grand prix #f1news #f1updates
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/ thegridgab
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[@thegridgab]

Sooooo where will Sainz end up? Over to you.....

[@Ninanotlina]

Looking at Sainz’s options, I’d be procrastinating too 😭

[@stgrimmy1692]

Sainz has been shafted in the Renault and Ferrari removals. I do think he still has the pick of the bottom half of the teams on the grid, will be interesting to see where he ends up. I think Alpine coming in is interesting, Williams are making the moves but will they be quick enough soon enough? I think the delay is seeing how the teams are developing on and off track. Mercedes not snapping him up is mainly due to Antonelli situation and Toto even said they don't have to decide until november. Interesting video as always! Do you have a podcast bud, would definitely listen if you did!

[@thegridgab]

I do have something in the works which will feature guests!

[@stgrimmy1692]

@@thegridgab Nice!

[@blazjurgec5260]

Not for much longer, either he'll decide right now, or he goes on holidays for a year.

[@walkertorque]

Sainz hasn't lost out on anything - except his Ferrari seat. He has 3 offers from 3 of the 4 worst teams - and wouldn't want to go to the 4th. He can watch and wait for as long as he wants - he has nothing to loose. The tops seats were not available - Aston Martin was never an option. If Lance goes, Lawrence goes - that's the only reason for the team. Sauber / Audi will not be competitive, Williams may be better - and now there's Alpine on the table. So, he can wait and see what their futures may hold - and, in the meantime, there may just be a Red Bull or Mercedes seat available.

[@thegridgab]

Let's just see where he ends up

[@ivaneurope]

If he's still hesitant he may risk losing everything. Audi are groing impatient from his lack of decision and now look at other options like Ocon or keeping Bottas, or even sign a young driver like Liam Lawson or Theo Pourchaire. Williams also is weary of Sainz's indecisiveness and may look elsewhere. Alpine might be rumoured to pursue Sainz, but IMO they will pick Jack Doohan to avoid Oscar Piastri situation 2.0. And he's not interested in either Haas or RB.

[@Anteater23]

Teams aren’t going to wait all year for one guy to make a decision.

[@FormulaOneFan98]

Can’t wait to come back to this comment when Sainz has to have a year on the sidelines because he couldn’t make his mind up

[@chimchim2_]

Regardless of the team he chooses, he will be settling. The longer this goes on, his stock will decline UNLESS he wins another race and recency bias kicks in and makes him the highest IQ, race crafty, race car dude ever.

[@crystalracing4794]

He might end up with a sabbatical

[@ivaneurope]

Sainz will soon be forgotten by F1 if he keeps dragging his feet. Audi won't be waiting for him to make up his mind in December, Williams won't either and Alpine will be better off giving Jack Doohan a chance.

[@walkertorque]

Why would he want to drive for Sauber or Williams. He may as well take a siesta and wait for his Ferrari seat to become available again.

[@ivaneurope]

@@walkertorque That Ferrari seat will NEVER become availlable for Sainz ever again. I used to feel sorry for Sainz and was hoping he'll find a seat, but after leaving two teams now hanging to dry I don't think he deserves a seat at all and hopefully he gets humbled. I get that he's hesitant of the Audi project and doesn't want to commit long term without assurances they'll be moving in the right direction, but at least they're offering him a financial stability plus ambassador role post-F1. At least Sainz should've been honest with them that he's not convinced they'll be competitive in the timeframe he desires, so Audi could look for alternative solutions elsewhere. I don't understand why he's also doing the same ignoring behavior to Williams too. Sure, they're not the behemoth they once were in the 80's and 90's, but James Vowles at least has a vision for the future for the team. And the offer that the team presented to Sainz is very flexible - he can opt-out after Year 2 if he doesn't see the team progressing as he was promised. And yet, Sainz is dragging his feet...AGAIN Now Alpine emerges as an option, but do they really want an Oscar Piastri situation 2.0 with Jack Doohan, who might have been promised a seat for 2025 after Ocon will be ousted, but that was maybe before Briatore entered the fray. So therefore chasing Sainz is more of a Briatore's idea than Alpine's. And there are lots of variables there - specifically if they're really serious of ditching the Renault power unit in favour of being a customer Mercedes team?

[@anshumanSrivastavaHere_I_COME]

i like haas and alpine as options, if he wanted to go to williams he'd have done so but interested to see where he ends up

[@dreena50]

I really hope, although I’m getting more discouraged, that Carlos can get that Mercedes seat. Why don’t Mercedes send Kimi over to Williams for a few years like they did with George? Honestly I was gutted when they announced Hamilton to Ferrari. I really liked the Charles/ Carlos pairing and it’s not like Carlos did anything terrible to lose that seat. I think it was a real slap in the face. No wonder he can’t resolve going to a team that doesn’t make it out of Q3 (on average). I think Ferrari should have done something to fix the Carlos issue like putting up his first year salary with Red Bull or Mercedes. I guess this doesn’t happen in F1, but when they were getting Hamilton did they even spare a moment for Carlos?

[@rr-tv4763]

I hope he gets a seat next year that’s for sure.

[@FormulaOneFan98]

If I were Sainz I would take the supposed 1 year deal offer from Mercedes. Let’s face it if Sainz performs well are they really going to replace him after just 1 year?

[@moiseulpasmoi]

You really underestimate Mercedes and their drivers. Being a fan of theirs since 2013, anything is possible with their driver contracts

[@mjarmes]

There is 0 chance that Max leaves RedBull and I doubt Carlos and his team would put any bets on that to the point of worsening his options just to wait for that possibility. Let's be serious here, anyone who actually thinks Max is going to Merc is delulu

[@lordhenrywotton95]

Mercedes is clearly the best option in short term. Even on a 1+1 and back himself to be competitive with Russell, because I don’t think Antonelli will be driving there in 2025. As for Verstappen moving, I’ll believe it only when I see it. If that isn’t an option, I would favour Audi, because they have the highest potential for the next set of regulations of the four teams on the table. Alpine’s future seems all up in the air despite being a works team, Williams and Haas customer teams with lower budgets have a glass ceiling.

[@Oni1975]

I get the feeling Sainz is, more or less, a "victim" of unfortunate circumstances, perhaps a tad bit similar to Alonso (minus two world championships). Trying too hard (understandably) to make the best of a bad situation risks leaving you with the "worst" outcome. I'd honestly be shocked if Sainz went to Mercedes, since Wolff seems all about getting Antonelli into the seat ASAP. Perhaps a year or two at Mercedes keeps him in the game, gives him a car that clearly is on the up, pairs him with another talented driver to effectively compare himself against, and buys him time to see how the grid evolves over time, particularly into 2026. But the Mercedes seat I think isn't entirely within his control, versus Sauber, Williams, and Alpine. If Mercedes really is available to him, I'm not sure what he's hesitating on. There's really nothing else more attractive--everything else are massive gambles.

[@gn0015]

I think he should go to Sauber. Next year will be a lame duck year for the team but I'd rather take the gamble of Audi either sinking or swimming than going to Williams or Alpine where both have been stuck in a rut for how many years now and showing no signs of breaking out of their current tier anytime soon.

[@aoife1122]

Carlos Sainz jr has no intention to sign with some hopeless backmarker team (and that's what Haas, Stake, Alpine and Williams are), not while there is still the slightest chance for a championship-winning drive. If all fails, there are worse things in life than going golfing with Carlos Sainz sr for a while "The best seat in the house" is still very much in the balance... and Christian Horner isn't known for being stupid or negligent, behind the scenes he is most certainly preparing for a "worst case scenario" and Carlos may well be an integral part of these preparations since Red Bull doesn't have a driver of his caliber in their ranks.

[@studiomoris4542]

Alpine is the best deal for Sainz, he got a better equiped team, more money and more flexible contract than Williams. RB willl keep Max, Mercedes will wait the last moment to take Kimi (or Ocon or Bottas)

[@walkertorque]

Okay, so if you were Sainz, who would you sign for (i) Today - and why? (ii) 5 months ago - and why?

[@metooidiot]

alpine today, merc 5 months ago

[@walkertorque]

@@metooidiot Merc wasn't an option 5 months ago - and it's his only real option today...

[@jacksonbarinowski3966]

Maybe this is out of the question, but RB is really missing out on Sainz. If they replaced Checo with him, I think they'd have the season locked down from the start. Carlos makes better strategy calls than the guys who get paid to strategize for him, and he races a lot smarter than Perez. I don't know though, I'm a sportscar racing fan so none of this really keeps me up. 😂

[@thegridgab]

If Red Bull had Sainz, the constructors championship would be sorted

[@NicotineRosberg]

Checo in the Redbull. Stroll with the lifetime contract... very shameful. If I was Sainz I would just sit it out. Take up a reserve role & do something on the side. Maybe do some rallying. His dad always wanted him to do that

[@CompelledFungus]

Why? Because Toto was talking through his arse to Brundle? Max isn't going to Mercedes, he said it in plain english.

[@thegridgab]

After the Lewis/Ferrari thing it's tough to believe anything

[@Rangifulla]

Carlos is clumsy on track, watch him fumble this too