Sainz backed for Mercedes move as MAJOR Audi warning issued
The Spaniard is yet to finalise his F1 team in 2025
Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has warned Carlos Sainz over a move to Audi given their lack of recent experience with F1 engines, as he backed the Spaniard to drive for Mercedes in 2025.
Sainz's time at Ferrari will come to an end in 2025 when Lewis Hamilton replaces the Spaniard, teaming up with Charles Leclerc.
F1 HEADLINES: Ricciardo fuelled by critics as former principal delivers HARSH verdict
READ MORE: Ferrari suffer Newey 'REJECTION' with British teams poised to swoop
Sainz is yet to commit his future to any team, as a handful of options await the 29-year-old.
Yet Steiner, who left his position as Haas team principal at the start of the year, believes that Sainz could well spend a year at Mercedes in 2025 – as he shared a word of warning regarding Audi's return to the F1 grid in 2026.
"There’s a lot of talk about Carlos going to Mercedes for a year," Steiner told The Red Flags podcast. "I think the chances he goes to Mercedes are bigger than him ending up at Red Bull.
"But I understand why Carlos is not in a hurry to make a decision. All the other teams are still waiting, Williams, Alpine, Audi is still waiting for him. So he just waits until somebody is not good enough.
"They all want to wait, these factory teams like Alpine and Audi, they want the best driver on the market.
"They know that the other ones [drivers] they can still get anyway, as until that domino falls, I don’t think anything will be moving...
"The risk with Audi [for Sainz] is higher as they’ve never made an F1 engine. Well, they did, but it was a long time ago."
READ MORE: Horner stuns Goodwood crowd with brutally honest Red Bull admission
Related
More F1 news
Latest F1 news
Recommended by the editors
Races
-
Grand Prix of Australia 2026
-
Grand Prix of China 2026
-
Grand Prix of Japan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Bahrain 2026
-
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2026
-
Miami Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix du Canada 2026
-
Grand Prix De Monaco 2026
-
Gran Premio de Barcelona-Catalunya 2026
-
Grand Prix of Austria 2026
-
Grand Prix of Great Britain 2026
-
Grand Prix of Belgium 2026
-
Grand Prix of Hungary 2026
-
Dutch Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Italy 2026
-
Gran Premio de España 2026
-
Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Singapore 2026
-
Grand Prix of the United States 2026
-
Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2026
-
Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2026
-
Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026
-
Qatar Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2026
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Editorial & corporate information
Avenue HQ
10–12 East Parade
Leeds
LS1 2BH
United Kingdom Regional correspondence
View contact page