With less than 2 years to go before their debut, Audi is ramping up their search to finalize two drivers for 2026. Carlos Sainz remains at the top of their list, getting offered a lucrative 3-year deal tailored to his wants. Yet, the Ferrari driver hasn’t agreed to drive for them. He wants to take his time and negotiate offers with Red Bull and Mercedes before making a final decision. Consequently, Audi has fast-tracked negotiations with their second driver to ensure certainty for their debut F1 endeavor.

Apart from Sainz, Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg and Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu were the prime candidates. Out of these 4, the German manufacturers were reportedly less interested in their current team, Sauber’s lineup, pushing Sainz and Hulkenberg into the top 2. Moreover, the Haas driver’s supreme Qualifying run since 2023 has improved his chances.

As per F1 Insider, Audi and Nico Hulkenberg have already decided to partner up in 2025. The German driver, however, has yet to put pen to paper on the final contract that will reportedly span 3 years. Consequently, an official statement is expected to be released by the end of May. Surprisingly, Hulkenberg wanted to begin driving for Sauber this year, but Haas didn’t release him.

With one piece of the puzzle in place, Audi is in a good position to get a head-start on the driver development front. If Carlos Sainz agrees to drive for them, their focus could majorly shift to developments on the car. Unfortunately, the Spaniard doesn’t want to make haste when it comes to his F1 future.

Carlos Sainz and his manager are “juggling” with potential contracts for 2025

As it stands, Carlos Sainz has three offers. A “stingy” one from Red Bull, a 1-year deal from Mercedes that doesn’t quite indicate Toto Wolff’s interest in signing him for the long term and a picture-perfect offer from Audi—but there is no track record of their performance. At this junction, the Ferrari driver’s manager, Carlos Onoro, has revealed their plans.

“Let’s say it’s an interesting period of time at the moment,” Onoro said on the F1 Nation podcast. “The driver market has been all over the place lately, and I think we will see some movements in the upcoming weeks, but for the moment, the juggling continues.”

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Onoro even gave an expected timeline for a final decision. “You can sleep well between China and Miami, don’t worry,” he told the host. “There will be no big news, at least coming from us. We’re still playing the game, so we’ll see.”

With three teams vying for his driving services, will Carlos Sainz be able to make the right decision? Or will he land on a team that poses some difficulties on the way to being a frontrunner?