18 April 2024 , 11:04
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Carlos Sainz has held talks with Red Bull over a move to become Max Verstappen's team-mate.
Sainz is one of the top stars available for 2025 and has been in superb form since Ferrari confirmed they will replace him with Lewis Hamilton. Naturally, he has been linked with the top seats available including the one currently occupied by Sergio Perez.
Red Bull insist it remains the Mexican's to lose, though they have been considering their options. And super adviser Helmut Marko has now confirmed discussions with Sainz over a potential Red Bull return.
"We're talking to him - he's having his strongest season in Formula 1," the Austrian told Kleine Zeitung. However, he went on to make it clear that there is a more attractive deal on the table for the 29-year-old that is more than Red Bull can offer.
Marko added: "[Sainz] has a very lucrative offer from Audi that we can't match or beat. But we still know him from the Toro Rosso days, even back then he drove with Max. It really hurt him back then when we at Red Bull relied on Verstappen and not on him."
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Verstappen and Sainz's time as Toro Rosso team-mates saw the Dutchman, then a teenager, earn a promotion to the top Red Bull team. Meanwhile, the Spaniard left to join Renault and worked his way up to the Ferrari seat he currently holds, via a McLaren spell.
He is now a three-time F1 race winner and the only man other than Verstappen to taste victory so far this year. That has attracted interest from both Red Bull and Mercedes, though it is understood he is not the top candidate for either seat.
An Audi move is more likely, given he has been in negotiations with the German carmaker for months, while Williams is also a potential destination. And, though Fernando Alonso's new Aston Martin contract appeared to close one door for Sainz, the Spaniard seemed unmoved.
He said: "For sure, all my best options are still open which is a positive thing and something that requires a bit of time, given the situation of the market." Meanwhile, at Red Bull, Perez remains adamant it will take nothing more than "a quick conversation" to resolve his future.
The Mexican said: "We all want to continue so I will expect [it to be] a matter a time. Given how the market is moving, things are kicking in a lot faster than we all would have liked, but it's how the game is at the moment."