Will Carlos Sainz be forced to sit out the 2025 Formula 1 season? It could happen if Nico Rosberg is right about the contract Mercedes has offered to the Spanish driver. The Sainz driver has been on the lookout for a race seat since Ferrari decided to let him go in favor of Lewis Hamilton in early February. Sainz, who has firmly established himself as a race winner with Ferrari, has no shortage of available race seats. Any team will be better off with him as one of its drivers.

However, whether the Spaniard wants just any race seat is the question to be asked. He will probably be looking for one of the top teams based on his recent form, but he might not be as attractive an option. Sainz has already been linked with Mercedes, Aston Martin, Red Bull, Kick Sauber (soon to be Audi’s works team), and Williams, to name a few.

However, after Fernando Alonso recently signed a multi-year extension with Aston Martin, there are now only two top teams left on that list: Mercedes and Red Bull. Former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has now confirmed that the Brackley squad has offered a contract to Carlos Sainz, but it’s one that he won’t like.

Even around the time when Charles Leclerc got his extension with Ferrari, Sainz was negotiating a long-term deal with the Scuderia. He wants to have a sense of security wherever he goes next. However, according to Rosberg, Mercedes has offered Sainz a 1-year deal. “Mercedes, apparently, only offers Sainz a one-year contract,“ Rosberg was quoted by the Spanish newspaper Marca.

And it makes sense that they don’t see Sainz as a long-term option considering that Toto Wolff has set his sights on promoting their junior driver Kimi Antonelli alongside George Russell as soon as possible. So would Carlos Sainz be willing to take that deal knowing that he would be in a similar situation just one year later? It’s not likely to happen.

So what other options does Carlos Sainz have if he doesn’t want a one-year deal?

According to the former Ferrari boss, Carlos Sainz should sit out in 2025

Christian Horner might offer Sainz a seat alongside Max Verstappen in 2025. However, with the job Sergio Perez is currently doing, Red Bull might not want to take that step. Why fix something if it’s not broken? Checo can easily help Red Bull win both championships despite not being much closer to Verstappen, and that’s exactly what they want.

The last genuine team left for Sainz is Kick Sauber, which will become Audi’s works team in 2026. However, Sauber is currently at the bottom of the midfield contenders. And despite Audi taking 100% control over Sauber’s operations, things are not likely to improve dramatically in just a couple of years. And that’s why Peter Windsor, the former Ferrari manager, thinks that Sainz should take a sabbatical in 2025.

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In a recent live chat on his YouTube channel, Windsor said, “If he [Carlos Sainz] does have to sort of write off 2025, in a way that would be a good year for him to sort of rebuild his style a little bit and just capitalize on everything he’s just done… I hope he does [sit out in 2025]. I hope, you know, if he has a bad year in ’25 because there’s nowhere to go apart from a plug-in Mercedes drive or Sauber drive then that would be a good year for him to rebuild some of his repertoire actually.”

Is Peter Windsor right in suggesting Carlos Sainz sit out the 2025 season? What are your thoughts on the matter?