Carlos Sainz has revealed how talks regarding potential moves for the 2025 Formula 1 season have made him learn “how little to believe people” during negotiations.
Sainz has been assessing his available options since Ferrari confirmed that it has signed Lewis Hamilton from next season to partner the incumbent Charles Leclerc.
The Spaniard is known to be mulling over proposals from Sauber as it prepares to morph into Audi and Williams, while Alpine has entered the mix over the past week.
Expanding upon how his decision-making process is going, Sainz suggested that he has come to understand how initial exchanges should not be taken at face value.
“First of all, the situation that I’ve been in this year has made me learn a lot about Formula 1 in general,” Sainz said.
“By talking to teams it has kind of shown me how tough this sport is and how little sometimes you have to believe what people say at the beginning of negotiations, conversations, and mainly people.
“Also to trust very little people in the paddock because it’s really a very political sport.
“There’s a lot of things like this involved, and it’s made me understand it’s a very tough sport in that sense and understand a better picture of Formula 1 without going too much into detail.
“Apart from the other teams, obviously I’ve learned a lot in which position they are in and the teams that I am potentially moving to next year.
“I’ve obviously dug in a lot into the state that they are and the situation that there is.
“And yeah, it’s also made me have probably a better understanding of how Formula 1 each team is and where they are.”
Sainz has admitted that it’s been hard to isolate possible suitors’ on-track fluctuations in the short term from their long-term prospects when weighing up his options.
“I’m doing the exercise within myself and my team to really try to avoid looking at each race performance of each team,” he explained.
“And just focus on the project and the feeling that I get by talking to each team and obviously looking at the contracts.
“I agree, it’s not easy because sometimes you, the competitive spirit, you just try and see who is faster.
“But I don’t think the last race of each team is also a representative point of where they’re going to be in the next couple of years.”
Despite several drivers waiting on an outcome to decide upon their futures, Sainz has disclosed that the hectic schedule means an announcement isn’t forthcoming.
“No, it’s obviously not the right time, and probably a triple-header isn’t the right time to go back home and take the decision with my team and put all the options on the table and think carefully what is best for me, for my future, for my career,” he added. “So obviously no, it’s not now the right time.”
