F1 News: Martin Brundle issues WARNING to 'under pressure' Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2023, social, generic — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News

Brundle issues WARNING to 'under pressure' Ferrari star

Martin Brundle thinks a Ferrari star should 'keep their options open' despite mounting 'pressure'

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 17 April 2024 13:59 Updated: 19:47

Martin Brundle has warned a Ferrari star to keep their options open, as 'pressure' mounts ahead of a crucial few months.

Ferrari have one of the strongest driver line-ups on the Formula 1 grid, with evenly matched drivers in Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

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Whilst the latter has found himself replaced by an incoming Lewis Hamilton for 2025, he has nonetheless shown he is more than a match for teammate Leclerc.

Sainz is the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race since George Russell at the Brazilian GP in 2022, yet he could find himself without a race-winning car next season.

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc have been evenly matched throughout their Ferrari careers

Carlos Sainz celebrates his Australian GP win 2024

Brundle warns Sainz to ‘keep his options open’

Now, Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle has warned Sainz not to make an early decision when it comes to signing with a team for 2025.

“Lawrence Stroll is hardly going to biff his son out of there unless he doesn’t want to do it any more, but he looks like he does. Will Perez keep the Red Bull seat? That’s the key, that’s the cork in the bottle,” Brundle said on the Sky Sports F1 podcast.

“Because putting Sainz in the Red Bull would be a no-brainer for me, or an Aston Martin or a Mercedes-Benz for that matter.

“He’s now got the experience, he’s got the speed, he’s still got youth on his side to an extent.

"So the problem team Sainz have is that Sauber, let’s call them Audi going forward, are putting him under pressure to do a long-term deal, which means he will then be at Sauber next year.

Martin Brundle urges Sainz to 'keep options open' as Audi 'pressure' mounts

“[He’ll be] treading water and then hanging all of his chances on how quickly Audi can get their team and their power unit together and become competitive, and that’s no small task," Brundle continued.

"So he could actually go off and have a really serious three or even four seasons with another team and still join Audi when they’re ripe and ready to go.

“But they’re putting him under pressure to sign and I don’t see the other three teams ready to give in to that pressure and sign Sainz. So they’ve got a bit of a stand-off.

"I think my advice to Carlos and his Dad would be just… things happen very quickly in this business. Two weeks is a very long time in Formula One… just keep your options open.”

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Formula 1 Charles Leclerc Carlos Sainz Martin Brundle