Red Bull won’t match ‘lucrative’ Sainz Audi offer
FILIP CLEEREN
FORMULA 1
Fernando Alonso’s contract renewal at Aston Martin has appeared to kick Formula 1’s silly season into another gear, with the focus now shifting to fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz.
Aston Martin could have been a possible avenue for the on-the-move Ferrari star. But with Alonso staying put, that means the options are narrowing for him. Sainz is understood to have had a firm offer from Audi on the table for some time, but has also been exploring other options as Red Bull mulls over whether to renew Sergio Perez’s expiring deal or make a change in the seat alongside Max Verstappen.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko confirmed that the squad has been holding talks with Sainz regarding a possible return to its fold, but revealed that Audi has made a sizeable offer for his services. “We’re talking to him, he’s having his strongest season in F1, but he has a very lucrative offer from Audi that we can’t match or beat,” Marko told the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung. “We know him from the Toro Rosso days, even back then he drove with Max [in 2015 and early 2016]. But it really hurt him back then when we backed Verstappen at Red Bull and not him.”
Marko is referring to Red Bull’s decision to promote Verstappen to the main team rather than Sainz, who then left for Renault in 2017. Both drivers’ families also endured strained relations at Toro Rosso that impacted the team’s atmosphere.
Perez’s improved displays in 2024, with three runner-up spots to Verstappen across the first five races, have improved the Mexican’s chances of staying on board. Team boss Christian Horner noted that the 34-year-old seems “more relaxed” this season now that he is no longer focused on Verstappen’s performances as opposed to his futile entertaining of a title bid at the start of 2023.
With RB’s Daniel Ricciardo enduring a difficult start to 2024 and team-mate Yuki Tsunoda seemingly not on Horner’s radar, the momentum has started shifting back towards Perez staying put. But while Perez has hinted at a quick resolution, Horner said that the team won’t be rushed into a decision on its 2025 driver line-up.
“Not very [close], I’m afraid,” he said at last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix. “It’s incredible that we’re at race five and there’s so much talk already about drivers for next year. We’re in a situation where we’re very happy with our two drivers, but we
