According to Helmut Marko, Carlos Sainz has received an attractive offer from Audi – is he hesitating to sign because he doesn’t want to take a step backwards in sporting terms?
A few days ago, Audi announced Nico Hülkenberg as the first regular driver for the Formula 1 project from 2026. The German will join the Swiss Sauber team as early as 2025, which will become the official works racing team of the Ingolstadt-based outfit one year later.
It is still unclear who will be sitting next to him in the coming years. However, it is an open secret in the paddock that Sauber CEO Andreas Seidl would like to bring Carlos Sainz to Hinwil. Allegedly, the Spaniard has already received an offer.
Helmut Marko from Red Bull recently stated in an interview with the Kleine Zeitung: “We are talking to [Carlos Sainz]. But he has a very lucrative offer from Audi that we can’t match or beat.”
So if the offer is really so good, why is the current Ferrari driver still hesitating to sign? Expert Nico Rosberg explains on Sky that, in his opinion, Audi and Sainz would be a “great fit.”
Does the sporting setback put Sainz off?
The Spaniard could help “with his experience” to “take the team forward”, says Rosberg, who also understands that Sainz does not want to rush things. He recalls: “He wants to win races now.” And at Audi or Sauber, he would have to start “from scratch again”.
Because even if Sainz were to drive in a works team in Hinwil in the medium term, a switch from Ferrari to the (still) customer team Sauber would initially be a step backwards in sporting terms. And according to Rosberg, it could take “many years” to attack the front with Audi.
“It takes five years – if ever – for a team to get to the front,” says Rosberg, speaking from his own experience. In 2010, he switched to the then new Mercedes team, which only became world champion for the first time in 2014 – in the fifth year mentioned above.
Another example: Red Bull won its first world championship title in 2010, the sixth year after the team was taken over. For Sainz, who celebrates his 30th birthday in September, it is therefore “a difficult decision”, believes Rosberg.
Does Sainz have any better options than Audi?
But are there any better options for Sainz? At Ferrari, he will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton in 2025, and at Mercedes, according to Rosberg, he would face the fate of only being a transitional driver before junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli could be put in the Silver Arrow in 2026.
“At Mercedes, they just don’t want to offer him more than one year, because after a year at the latest, they’re hoping for Kimi Antonelli, who really is a huge talent,” said Rosberg. And Sainz would obviously earn less at Red Bull than at Audi.
Expert Ralf Schumacher explains on Sky: “I believe that the relatively high salary […] of Max [Verstappen] means that the budget is a bit stretched as far as Red Bull is concerned. And that’s why there may still be obstacles in the way. “
According to Schumacher, the question is also: “Does Carlos Sainz want to sit next to Max Verstappen?” Because the six-time Grand Prix winner believes: “If Max Verstappen doesn’t leave, then I don’t think Red Bull is that interesting for him. “
Schumacher: Audi project can be a success
Because in sporting terms, he would face a similar fate there alongside top dog Verstappen as Sergio Perez currently does in the shadow of the world champion. So although there are still many cockpits available for 2025, Schumacher’s conclusion is: “Carol Sainz doesn’t have that many options.”
“And accordingly, Audi will then become very, very interesting for him,” the expert believes, even if Sainz would first have to take a small step backwards there in 2025. “There’s still a lot to do now, no question about it,” says Schumacher.
“But a lot of new people will be joining Audi and a lot will happen,” he emphasizes and reminds us: “There will be completely new [regulations] from 2026, and as a team we have to make the best of it. You have to create the conditions for that now.”
“And I think Andreas Seidl knows what he’s doing. That means the opportunities are definitely there,” says Schumacher. The crucial question now is whether Carlos Sainz sees it the same way and is prepared to take the risk.
