Where does Carlos go now?
Discussion
Finlandese said:
Regarding Audi. Why would Sainz waste his best years in a project that starts from the back of the field and with no guarantee of success? Merc needs a driver, Aston might need a driver, Red Bull could be a possibility, especially considering the dynamics between Verstappens and CH.
Carlos is in a great position. If RedBull wants a better second driver, Carlos is the obvious answer. If Max leaves, Carlos is available. Merc needs a stop gap for year or two. Carlos would be respectable solution. If Alonso leaves Aston, Carlos is a great replacement.
Money talks, same reason a lot of these footballers have been going to Saudi over getting paid 50-70% less but playing Premier, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A. Carlos is in a great position. If RedBull wants a better second driver, Carlos is the obvious answer. If Max leaves, Carlos is available. Merc needs a stop gap for year or two. Carlos would be respectable solution. If Alonso leaves Aston, Carlos is a great replacement.
the-norseman said:
Finlandese said:
Regarding Audi. Why would Sainz waste his best years in a project that starts from the back of the field and with no guarantee of success? Merc needs a driver, Aston might need a driver, Red Bull could be a possibility, especially considering the dynamics between Verstappens and CH.
Carlos is in a great position. If RedBull wants a better second driver, Carlos is the obvious answer. If Max leaves, Carlos is available. Merc needs a stop gap for year or two. Carlos would be respectable solution. If Alonso leaves Aston, Carlos is a great replacement.
Money talks, same reason a lot of these footballers have been going to Saudi over getting paid 50-70% less but playing Premier, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A. Carlos is in a great position. If RedBull wants a better second driver, Carlos is the obvious answer. If Max leaves, Carlos is available. Merc needs a stop gap for year or two. Carlos would be respectable solution. If Alonso leaves Aston, Carlos is a great replacement.
Carlos has been pretty much the match of Leclerc hasn't he. He also compared well against Norris in a similar way. He's a points machine. Reminds me a bit of Hamilton really, often outshone on a qualifying lap but he's very reliable and has the bandwidth to manage a race distance really well. An asset to any team. I really don't want him to go to Sauber. I want to see him scoring podiums and wins. He seems to have had to work so hard to get to where he is and he fully deserved his Ferrari seat.
Hustle_ said:
Carlos has been pretty much the match of Leclerc hasn't he. He also compared well against Norris in a similar way. He's a points machine. Reminds me a bit of Hamilton really, often outshone on a qualifying lap but he's very reliable and has the bandwidth to manage a race distance really well. An asset to any team. I really don't want him to go to Sauber. I want to see him scoring podiums and wins. He seems to have had to work so hard to get to where he is and he fully deserved his Ferrari seat.
I too would be sad to see him go to a poorly performing team and would have preferred to see him partnering Lewis at Ferrari. I agree he is deserving of a decent seat in F1.Hustle_ said:
Carlos has been pretty much the match of Leclerc hasn't he. He also compared well against Norris in a similar way. He's a points machine. Reminds me a bit of Hamilton really, often outshone on a qualifying lap but he's very reliable and has the bandwidth to manage a race distance really well. An asset to any team. I really don't want him to go to Sauber. I want to see him scoring podiums and wins. He seems to have had to work so hard to get to where he is and he fully deserved his Ferrari seat.
Sainz hasn’t bested Leclerc at Ferrari. How much of that is team orders / dynamics is unknown. But the stats show a clear advantage to Leclerc, who is of course also younger.Sainz at Audi feels like a great position, TBH.
carinaman said:
a short contract at Merc is likely, with Carlos keeping George honestBo_apex said:
carinaman said:
a short contract at Merc is likely, with Carlos keeping George honest
You’ve got to ask why he’d even consider Mercedes given their current woes. 2025 will still be the old regs so Merc are likely struggle moreso without LH to help with development this year and next. They’ll be lost in 2025 and it’s anyone’s guess how good they’ll be in 2026.
Merc and Audi are options that should carry similar weight. Merc offering a shorter contract vs long at Audi could swing it.
RBR > AM > Merc > Audi > Williams
Merc and Audi are options that should carry similar weight. Merc offering a shorter contract vs long at Audi could swing it.
RBR > AM > Merc > Audi > Williams
maz8062 said:
You’ve got to ask why he’d even consider Mercedes given their current woes. 2025 will still be the old regs so Merc are likely struggle moreso without LH to help with development this year and next. They’ll be lost in 2025 and it’s anyone’s guess how good they’ll be in 2026.
Merc and Audi are options that should carry similar weight. Merc offering a shorter contract vs long at Audi could swing it.
RBR > AM > Merc > Audi > Williams
I can’t agree with that at all, if Mercedes want him then it’s a no brainer over Audi. Audi will likely be nowhere for a few years, they have no experience building an F1 engine and the existing technical team are nowhere near top level. His attitude would be I’ll beat George and take his seat.Merc and Audi are options that should carry similar weight. Merc offering a shorter contract vs long at Audi could swing it.
RBR > AM > Merc > Audi > Williams
Bluequay said:
I can’t agree with that at all, if Mercedes want him then it’s a no brainer over Audi. Audi will likely be nowhere for a few years, they have no experience building an F1 engine and the existing technical team are nowhere near top level. His attitude would be I’ll beat George and take his seat.
Agreed, it took Mercedes 3 seasons to win a race and 5 to win the championship when they re-entered F1 in 2010 even when buying the previous Championship winning Brawn team and with years in F1 as an engine supplier. Sauber have only won one race (as BMW-Sauber) 16 years ago, their last podium was in 2012.FourWheelDrift said:
Bluequay said:
I can’t agree with that at all, if Mercedes want him then it’s a no brainer over Audi. Audi will likely be nowhere for a few years, they have no experience building an F1 engine and the existing technical team are nowhere near top level. His attitude would be I’ll beat George and take his seat.
Agreed, it took Mercedes 3 seasons to win a race and 5 to win the championship when they re-entered F1 in 2010 even when buying the previous Championship winning Brawn team and with years in F1 as an engine supplier. Sauber have only won one race (as BMW-Sauber) 16 years ago, their last podium was in 2012.They may be a force in the future but LH leaving at the end of the season will upset the apple cart and their current performance will not attract the best engineers thinking of leaving RBR or Ferrari.
I could be wrong but I’ve been watching F1 too long not to recognise when teams are on a downward existential trajectory.
I still can’t help but think Red Bull makes the most sense for him, there is only one fly in the ointment, and that is the evil Marko I think there was tension there with Sainz and the Marko factor was the reason Sainz was looking to get out of Red Bull previously (although I might be wrong about that).
If CH signs Sainz for next year with an additional one year option, that will give him the coverage of having a truly world class, race winnig driver to keep Max honest - would be very interesting to see how that would work out with Jos the boss kicking off in the background
If CH signs Sainz for next year with an additional one year option, that will give him the coverage of having a truly world class, race winnig driver to keep Max honest - would be very interesting to see how that would work out with Jos the boss kicking off in the background
maz8062 said:
FourWheelDrift said:
Bluequay said:
I can’t agree with that at all, if Mercedes want him then it’s a no brainer over Audi. Audi will likely be nowhere for a few years, they have no experience building an F1 engine and the existing technical team are nowhere near top level. His attitude would be I’ll beat George and take his seat.
Agreed, it took Mercedes 3 seasons to win a race and 5 to win the championship when they re-entered F1 in 2010 even when buying the previous Championship winning Brawn team and with years in F1 as an engine supplier. Sauber have only won one race (as BMW-Sauber) 16 years ago, their last podium was in 2012.They may be a force in the future but LH leaving at the end of the season will upset the apple cart and their current performance will not attract the best engineers thinking of leaving RBR or Ferrari.
I could be wrong but I’ve been watching F1 too long not to recognise when teams are on a downward existential trajectory.
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