Carlos Sainz has outlined that ensuring he has the “full support” of a squad will be decisive in the decision he makes on where he will drive next in Formula 1 in 2025.
Sainz is the most established name in F1 without a seat for next term amid Ferrari’s decision to sign seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton to partner Charles Leclerc.
The Spaniard has been touted as a potential option to replace Hamilton at Mercedes on a short-term deal, while Red Bull has lodged an interest in reuniting with him.
Meanwhile, Sauber divulged last week that Sainz is the Hinwil-based squad’s top target to slot in alongside Nico Hulkenberg as it prepares to evolve into Audi in 2026.
However, Sainz has stated that he is no closer to resolving his future and that an outcome is also dependent on the movements other teams make in the driver market.
“As I’ve said before, there are certain things that don’t depend fully on myself and there’s going to be some waiting to be done,” Sainz said in Miami.
“But, in the meantime, it’s not like we are completely stopped. We’re still in conversations with people and advancing what we can advance.
“But all those things include the waiting that as I said before we’re going to need to do for people to make up their minds in many areas.”
Sainz has highlighted that guaranteeing he plumps for a suitable “medium-term” venture in a secure environment is among the leading factors that he has prioritised.
“I think like any other employee in any other company, just the full support, full backing of the company.
“I just need to extract the best out of myself. A good medium-term project that allows me to focus on not only the today and now, but also on the medium-term future.
“Just good people all around me and I think any of those teams mentioned are good options for that and that’s why you need to keep all the options open for the moment.”
Reports in Spain had speculated that Audi’s proposal to Sainz had comprised a deadline that the Ferrari driver had failed to respond to within the allocated timeframe.
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