Audi drop new F1 driver hint after Carlos Sainz Dakar success

A shadow of an unknown driver appears next to an Audi F1 car — Photo: © LAT Images

F1 News & Gossip

Audi drop new F1 driver hint after Sainz Dakar success

The German team are entering F1 in 2026

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 23 January 2024 09:57

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Audi have hinted that Carlos Sainz may potentially be on their list of drivers to watch ahead of their 2026 entry, after commenting on the Spaniard's Instagram post.

The German car manufacturer have been said to be sniffing around Sainz, with his current contract at Ferrari due to expire at the end of 2024.

Sainz's father, who goes by the same name, recently claimed his fourth Dakar Rally victory while driving an Audi RS Q-tron, in what was the German team's first Dakar title.

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This suggests that the bond between the Sainz family and Audi is strong, something that may tempt Ferrari's Sainz when deciding on his next big career move.

Carlos Sainz has been linked with a move to the new Audi team

Carlos Sainz Sr claimed victory at the 2024 Dakar Rally driving an Audi

Carlos Sainz was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a main race in 2023

Sainz's Audi links

After Sainz Sr's historic victory, the 29-year-old put up a post on Instagram with the caption: "We'll never forget this @dakarrally ?"

Audi's social media team decided to comment on said post with a simple three word response of "What a time!"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Carlos Sainz (@carlossainz55)

This has fuelled rumours of a close connection between Sainz Jr and Audi, who are currently in the process of trying to form a team for 2026 having already started working on their power unit.

Current Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas has already been quite bullish about his chances of claiming one of the ambitious outfit's seats, but the other one remains up for grabs, as well as a hotly contested battle to become team principal.

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Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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F1 Ferrari Carlos Sainz Audi Dakar Rally