16 April 2024 , 09:38
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Former Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has warned Carlos Sainz a move to Audi could be a risk with new teams potentially more likely to leave the sport than long-standing names.
Sainz is in his final season with Ferrari, with Lewis Hamitlon due to replace him for the 2025 season and beyond. The Spaniard had one race win last season and claimed another in Australia in March, leaving him well ahead of his successor in the 2024 standings after four grands prix.
With Fernando Alonso extending his stay at Aston Martin, Sainz appears to be left with two outstanding options. One is the new Audi works team, with the German company set to take over Sauber in 2026, while the other is Williams.
After a number of podium finishes to kick off the current campaign, Sainz's next move looks set to see him move back on the grid. Even so, Villeneuve - who won Williams' last drivers' and constructors' titles in 1997 - thinks his former team represents the better option.
"Well, they're [Audi] joining with a team that hasn't been any good for so many years. And, you just can't invent know-how," Villeneuve told Sports Illustrated. "It's something that you build over time.
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"You can see it with Williams. You know, they stay kind of good for a while, but you pay the price of pay drivers, of all that, you pay it late. And now the team has been rebuilding, but it doesn't happen overnight. It also takes time. So, it won't happen overnight."
Sauber returned to Formula 1 for the 2024 season, with drivers Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas having competed under the Alfa Romeo banner in 2023. Over the course of the first four races of the season, neither driver has scored a point.
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Carlos Sainz claimed victory at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix (Future Publishing via Getty Imag)“What's dangerous with constructors when they come in is they can easily in five minutes decide, ‘okay, we're gone, bye’ and they leave and they don't care," Villeneuve added. "They're great for the sport, but they're also very dangerous in that respect. Where a team like Williams cannot leave. It exists with and because of F1.
"What does Williams do if they stop F1? Nothing. So, you're kind of secure in the knowledge that they will find a way to persevere to get better and because it's their bread and butter.”
Sainz has been getting on with things in his final Ferrari season, seemingly able to put the speculation over his future to one side. He has three podiums from three races, having missed out on the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix following a bout of appendicitis.
"Last year, we just [had] zero flexibility and we couldn't do anything without racing, so it looked like we were not getting the strategy right a lot of times," he said after finishing third in Japan. "But when you have a car that is better on tyres, two drivers that can push on the car more often and you have that extra flexibility, your strategy also looks better."