Carlos Sainz rules out one option for 2025 in quest to secure F1 future

Carlos Sainz has said in no uncertain terms that he will not be taking a sabbatical next season as he continues to nail down his next move in Formula 1.

With confirmation that Esteban Ocon will join Haas , there are now just five seats for Sainz to choose from in 2025 but he appears no closer to choosing one.

Carlos Sainz rules out sabbatical as search for 2025 seat goes on

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Sainz has been contemplating his future ever since Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari was announced in February but five months later and the Spaniard has still not put pen to paper on a deal.

In that time, his options have been falling with half the grid now having both seats filled for 2025. However, the possibility of taking a year out is not one that the 29-year-old has considered.

“Absolutely no. Sabbatical isn’t even in my head,” he told media including PlanetF1.com in Thursday’s FIA press conference at Spa.

“I’m happy in Formula 1, love Formula 1 and I would rather go down to a midfield team and help and use my skill in the peak of my career to try and help the team to find the right way than taking a year off or being third driver for anyone.

“I’m competitive and I know I can still bring to a midfield team that side of me.”

One of the options most linked to Sainz is a move to Sauber ahead of Audi’s arrival and the appointment of Sainz’s former boss Mattia Binotto could be seen as another plus point for the current Ferrari driver.

On Binotto’s arrival and how that may affect his decision, Sainz insisted it had not moved the needle.

“I think my future is still being discussed and obviously analysed very carefully, and there’s changes to a lot of teams that I’m looking at for next year pretty much every week.” he said.

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“So there’s changes on the team market as much as there is on the driver market and I’m just going to keep giving myself time to take the decision to analyse all these things that keep changing without giving you too many clues.”

As for how Binotto may improve Audi, Sainz said having an experienced member like that would be beneficial for any team.

“I’m not up to date with everything that is going on at Audi but of course, I think the arrival of Mattia to any team is positive, mainly because he has the experience of what it takes to build a team.

“He has that experience from Ferrari that he can bring into Audi and I’m sure he’s a great asset for them and that’s why they hired him.”

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