Carlos Sainz has claimed he has offers on the table from all seven teams looking for new drivers for the 2025 season. The Spaniard will leave Ferrari at the end of 2024, making way for the highly-anticipated arrival of Lewis Hamilton.
Sainz, who says he could agree a contract ‘tomorrow’ if he wanted to, has been strongly linked with Williams in recent weeks but there are a further six teams whose driver line-up for next year is not confirmed. Mercedes, Aston Martin, VCARB, Haas, Alpine and Sauber also have places free.
It was put to Sainz that Williams are the favourites to secure his commitment for 2025. However, the 29-year-old insists that all seven teams have made offers and that he “could sign with them tomorrow”, but will instead take his time before making a decision.
Sainz says that he will make a decision soon. “I won’t lie to you, all the teams that haven’t signed their drivers for next year have me on their list and have offered me a contract. I could sign with them tomorrow, but I won’t do it tomorrow,” he told El Hormiguero.
“I’m going to take it a bit calmly, decide soon, and any of those teams you mentioned are an option for me.”
He added: “No [I don’t know where I will be], I still have my options on the table, ready to make a decision. And I can tell you that I’m going to make the decision very soon because I want to get it over with, make a decision, and focus on the rest of the year with Ferrari.
“There will be time to think about the future team. But this year, I have a car that allows me to make podiums, to win some races, and I want to focus on that.”
Sainz was informed in February of Ferrari’s decision to replace him with Hamilton. His two Grand Prix victories are more than team-mate Charles Leclerc has managed (one) since the start of the 2023 season, although the latter has frequently outscored his colleague.
Despite his brutal axe, Sainz has confirmed that he does not feel badly treated by Ferrari.
He continued: “Honestly, I can’t complain about the treatment I’ve received at Ferrari. There are always moments of tension in all teams. You always think they could have helped you a bit more here, just like Charles might think.
“Or Ferrari might think I could have behaved a bit better at some point. But it’s high competition. You turn the page and forget about it.
“The truth is, for example, my team-mate and I are friends off the track, we get along very well, and we make a very good team.
“If there was something that worked and still works in Ferrari, it’s that the two drivers get along very well. We win races, we make podiums, and we work as a team.”
