The F1 driver market is solely centered on Carlos Sainz‘s decision for 2025. Mercedes, Audi (Now, Sauber), Red Bull, Williams, and Aston Martin – The Spaniard was reported to be in contact with these teams for a ride after Ferrari axed him for Lewis Hamilton. With Fernando Alonso re-signing, AMR is out of the picture. Red Bull too seems to be going ahead with their current pairing. Of the 3 remaining, F1 TV Presenter Lawrence Barretto surprisingly feels that Williams would be Sainz’s best bet for 2025.

Though Sainz is now said to be in negotiations with Mercedes, Toto Wolff doesn’t seem to be on board with his ask for a 3-year (2+1 year) contract. Instead, a 2-year (1+1 year) deal is what the Austrian Team Principal proposes. In case this doesn’t go through, Sainz would be left with Sauber and Williams for 2025.

Sauber, which will become the Audi F1 team in 2026, had good relations with him. But relations don’t seal championships. Fast cars do. According to Lawrence Barretto, Williams is headed for better times than Sauber. “I think he would need to give a gamble with Williams, maybe,” Barretto said in ‘The Race F1 Podcast’. “You want a slightly better short-term option. Williams are in a much better spot than Sauber are, at the minute.

He then elaborated on how Audi’s 2026 entry could prove to be dicey. “Even when Audi comes in, in 2026 with an engine that’s unproven, of course, and they started developing significantly after all of the engine manufacturers that they are going to be up against, it’s still going to take them several years. Whereas at least, it feels that Williams are going in the right direction. They should be much better set next year.”

Though Williams has had short-term issues like the crashes in Australia and Japan, TP James Vowles remains level-headed. This could be the key element that could lift them out of the midfield in 2025. While such opinions, predictions, and speculations continue, Sainz remains focused on 2024 with Ferrari.

Carlos Sainz is pleased with Ferrari’s all-round improvement

In just 1 year, Frederic Vasseur has ensured that Ferrari has the ability to compete with Red Bull for wins. Though Max Verstappen is continuing his rampage into 2024, Carlos Sainz is flaunting the results of Ferrari’s impressive gains.

“We’ve improved everywhere and especially in the race pace,” Sainz said after the Japanese GP. “It also allows us to have more strategic flexibility that last year we didn’t have. It allows me to go forward in the races and instead of looking in my mirrors all the time to offset myself with strategy and then overtake people, which is something that last year wasn’t in the cards at any point.”

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Ferrari’s improvement is currently shining brighter through Sainz’s performance. Though he has become one of the most sought-after drivers in F1, his teammate Charles Leclerc is not a driver who stands down easily. With the Chinese GP up next, the Monegasque has declared that his eyes are on the winner’s trophy.

So even though Sainz’s hype is validated, as he is still the only non-Red Bull driver to win in 2023 and 2024, an intense intra-Ferrari battle awaits us in Shanghai.