Carlos Sainz, despite being sidelined due to an appendectomy during the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, remained engaged as his team reportedly explored a potential move to Mercedes for the 2025 season.
While Sainz himself could only watch from the sidelines, his team was in active negotiations, with Sainz’s father and manager joining him in the paddock.
Accompanied by his father, Carlos Sainz Snr, and manager, Carlos Onorio, Sainz seized the opportunity to support his team-mate Charles Leclerc and his stand-in, Oliver Bearman, during the Saturday race.
However, the trio also capitalized on their presence to engage in discussions with Toto Wolff, the head of motorsport at Mercedes, within the team’s hospitality area.
Reports from Italy suggest that these discussions marked the commencement of negotiations regarding a potential seat for Sainz at Mercedes in the 2025 season.
This move comes in the wake of Lewis Hamilton’s surprising decision to depart from Mercedes and join Ferrari, leaving a vacancy in the team for the upcoming championship.
With Hamilton’s departure, Sainz finds himself without a confirmed drive for 2025. However, speculation is rife that he could fill Hamilton’s void at Mercedes, potentially resulting in a direct swap between the two drivers.
Corriere dello Sport reported, “during the Saudi Arabian GP, the entire entourage of Carlos Sainz remained in the Mercedes hospitality for a long time,” indicating the extent of the discussions held between Sainz’s team and Mercedes officials.
“Sainz Jr’s contract with Ferrari expires at the end of the season, and for this reason his manager Carlos Onorio, together with the driver’s father Carlos Sainz Snr spoke at length with Toto Wolff.”
“The negotiations have begun,” according to the Italian publications.
While Sainz has remained tight-lipped about the specific teams he’s in talks with, he hasn’t shied away from discussing the criteria he’s considering for his next Formula 1 contract.
“[I am] looking for a project first that allows me to win and be performing as soon as possible,” he said to the media in Bahrain.
“But also for sure looking at stability and how important stability is in a project in the medium to long term. To build a strong team and a team to understand the driver and the driver to understand the team.
“So with those two things in mind and those two things that you need to put into the equation, I will take my decision, taking my time accordingly.”
Nevertheless, he played down the significance of Sainz Snr’s discussions with numerous senior figures in the paddock.
“If you saw my dad went to say hello to Helmut Marko you need to remember he has a great relationship with him in the same way we have a good relationship with Toto,” he stated.
“With everyone in the grid it is normal at this stage of the year. But also, we haven’t seen each other for three or four months or so you’re going say hello to each other.”
