Imagine you’re a frontrunning F1 driver. You’re racing for Ferrari, you’re the only driver other than Max Verstappen to have won a grand prix in the past 18 months and you’re in the form of your life.
Yet somehow, you don’t have a seat for 2025. And there’s every chance you’ll have to drop down the grid next year.
That’s all because Ferrari has made the completely understandable decision to sign Lewis Hamilton, a shock move that is the primary reason for Carlos Sainz being in this absurd situation. But it’s not the only bizarre factor.
It’s almost inconceivable that the 29-year-old wouldn’t have a place on the grid next year, although it is possible. But the big question is whether the place he is likely to get is in keeping with the status and performance level of a driver who you would expect to be a dead cert for a top drive.
00:00 Intro
02:04 Red Bull long shot
03:34 Antonelli back-up at Mercedes
04:56 Audi inevitable?
06:00 Wildcards
06:45 A key decision
08:16 Form of his life
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If Aston Martin had any brains in charge, they would get rid of Lance and sign Sainz. Sainz and Alonso would be a magnificent team-up.
Spanish buff
@@danathelittle hell yaaaa
This comment is seriously underrated, Sainz showing his '' watch this people '' energy would mesh so well with Alonso. They're eager, its a magnificent idea.
Blood is thicker than water and two Spaniards together doesn't sound like a good idea.
Removing stroll and adding a proper driver would have Aston Martin competing for third.
building your project around Stroll is like building your house with straw
One of the three little pigs would like to have a word with you
More like tissue paper in a rainstorm….
Much like 2021 to 2024 Aston martin?
As long as Lawrence Stroll owns the F1 team and has control of the Aston Martin company, his son will be a driver for the team no matter how terrible of a driver he is.
@@2011bluemanHopefully Lance just gets better. (Even if he’s had many years to prove it)
"Project built around Stroll" is such a joke, first it was Vettel now Fernando like honestly Aston Martin is a joke of a team.
😂 when I heard that quote, I thought if the team was suitably built around Stroll, they’d enter to circus trumpet music, before Stroll stops on the grid and all the wheels and body panels simultaneously fall off in comedy fashion.
His father bought the team cause of him
We know. He just wasted his money. I bet stroll never, ever, ever wins a race.....even if they had the best car on grid, he's incapable of not being a window licker
@@angelotana3040 The thing is, Stroll has moments of brilliance. They're just on average once every 18 months.
No @@ihateeveryoneofyou, he has moments of being less incompentent and doing what he is supposed to do anyway. That aint brilliance but the bare mininum. But as you said it's only once every 18 months or so.
Building your team around stroll is the most insane thing ive heard in a while
Unless of course, he's your son - then it's pretty damn logical
@@cabanford No, it's never logical. Logic doesn't change based on person. At best it's understandable. But never logical.
@@DodgeThisUBastard Its entirely logical for a human to want to benefit his offspring over. His sone coming 2nd in the family car is more logical than someone elses son coming 1st in the family car.
@@DodgeThisUBastardwell to Papa Stroll it is. He got the money, all we poor peasants could do is talk sht about em here in KZhead comments.
@@DodgeThisUBastard Lawrence Stroll put his own money into the AM team, so in return, he wants his son to be one of the drivers. It's reasonable, there's nothing wrong with hiring your own family if you are a business owner. Yes, you undercut your financial profit, but being a good dad is a profit in itself.
The only technical contribution Stroll provides is crash testing the car in Grand Prix conditions.
I'm loving these Stroll hate comments xD
Damn 😅
😂😂
😂😂
It is really fascinating that basically every team would not mind to have Sainz as their driver, but nobody is fighting over him.
Red Bull is almost certainly going to drop Perez for 2025 and try to sign Sainz.
@@2011bluemanPerez in 2025 might join either VCARB F1 or Aston Martin.
The most Sainz thing ever
Except Audi
Because he's a good driver, but not a champion material, Audi really wants him though, he's probably their nr1 on thier list, with others like Gasly and Ocon probably, i think it's probably his safest bet since they can build their team around him (unless he gets beaten by Hulk again)
Building a project around stroll is all we need to know about Aston Martin's aspirations to win an F1 title
F1 is a difficult business to make sense of. If Lance is the reason Lawrence invest heavily into F1 then so be it, I would rather Alonso be fast by himself then for us to have another money gather team like HAAS and Williams. We can´t say that Lawrence isn´t pushing AMR, that team has improved vastly ever since he bought it.
😂😅
I really feel bad for the man, he was a good driver with McLaren and became brilliant with Ferrari but he always moved aside for others in his whole career.
nope. At McLaren he left by his own choice. McLaren wanted to keep him
How has HE moved aside from Ferrari? This comment is weak
@@TookMeAlongTimeSainz left McLaren to join the vacant seat left by Vettel at Ferrari, and was replaced with Ricciardo. Sainz wasn't forced out - Ferrari wanted him
@@Dessydd Hasn't he? Is he driving for Ferrari next year? Do you know what moving aside means?
@@Undergroundgrufty Yeah Ok, he lost his seat twice. In Renault and in Ferrari.
Sainz + alonso is such a logical choice for aston
Definitely. But Stroll seemingly still has permanent choice for AMRF1.
I fully agree, Stroll will go WEC would be the necessary toy his dad will need to buy him.
I don´t think Alonso would like it. Just because they are Spanish don´t mean they get along
Nah, I think Honda will push for a Japanese driver (Juki) and Lance will go to WEC in 2026...
@@MrSilverfish12 I never said about being Spanish. Both have extremely good adaptation capabilities & maximizing what they have , unlike Riccardo for example
AM: Daddy's boy is there, and Yuki is Honda's 1st choice RB: A No. 2 driver unless Max leaves Merc: Stop gap measure for an Italian protégé Audi: A leap of faith
Well.. the German blokes at Ingolstadt have shown to be relentless in persuit of victory and got the resources to really make a big splash. Also, its Audi, these guys have no chill in regards to half measures. That, and at Audi, he can be the first driver, and thats a chance in many teams on the grid you will not have.
@@thijshagenbeek6554i have no doubt in audi being successful but we gotta talk about when will they be ? 2028? 2029? 2030? considering how they have technically the best engine in the car aero and chassis wise they need to make a huge leap forward
Well, Audi has a proven trackrecord of getting things right, or catching on mindboggelingly quickly. You said 2028, that means they would get on the grid, and get their act together in two years. Thats the blink of an eye in the world of motorsports.
Aston Martin’s seats are already full. Alonso has a new contract, and Stroll is Stroll.
@@shwanniaz756probably 2031.
Sainz is in the worst position possible because he knows the team he is leaving may well have the best chance to nail the 2026 regulations.
Exactly. Mercedes has still no idea what's wrong with the car, and aero will not change that much between 25 and 26. Red Bull is taking a huge gamble with an in-house engine, and with Newey potentially leaving them, a rapid decline is very well in the cards. Audi is a big unknown, but since Sauber is miles behind in terms of chassis development and the engine is also a big 50/50, I wouldn't bet on them either, at least in the early few years. Aston Martin with Honda sounds good on paper, but the engineers worked on the current engine mostly stayed at Red Bull PT. Meanwhile Ferrari not just the second best team now, but for a long time seems heading in a good direction in terms of management. Of course engine development can go either way for each manufacturer, it is not a bad bet that Merc and Ferrari will be somewhere near the top engine-wise.
@@LordViktorHun88i already expected Mercedes to fight mostly at the back of the pack in 2025 and 2026.
@@purwantiallan5089 well I wouldn't go that far, but yeah, McLaren looks better now to be a top contender instead.
@@LordViktorHun88 "aero will not change that much between 25 and 26" Are you joking? It's a huge difference. It's one of the biggest aero regulation changes in the history of the sport it's just been overshadowed by the previous one which was the biggest.
The last time Ferrari nailed anything was when Italians were not in charge, so...
This is why I wish F1 had an eleventh and twelfth team
No point if they were backmarkers.
@@magnustan841 there must be a back marker no? If not those teams them its Sauber, Alpine or Williams.. as long as they are not that far behind like HRT was
*Points at Haas* These guys exist to you know, and they arent backmarkers, there the end of the road.
You Andretti cry babies just won’t quit😂
Or even 13th to 16th teams.
“You’re the only driver other than Max Verstappen to have won a grand prix within the last 18 months”.. Perez won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix less than 12 months ago. Edd Straw (the narrator) repeated the same phrase in his article for The Race Website. I’m genuinely concerned he doesn’t know how many months are in a year.
The only non-Redbull driver* that’s their point I believe
If aston actually wants to be seen as a serious team, they NEED to drop lance. It´s embarrassing to hear them talk up themselves while he is in one of the cars.
That’s like saying if Redbull were serious they’d drop Perez. Perez underperforms worse than Stroll.
@@paperplane-db8qf you are mad
@@paperplane-db8qfDoes Lawrence pay you per the word to put propaganda online? 😅
@@TheDiasporaMedia stroll and Perez are underperforming but at least Stroll isn’t wasting a championship contending seat. You guys can whinge about Stroll all you want but meanwhile you hypocrites will say nothing about Perez.
@@paperplane-db8qfyou’re one of the most unintentionally hilarious people I’ve ever encountered in my entire life 😂
I still think his best bet is Audi. Joining in 2025 gives him input in the development of the 2026 car and the best chance to steer it in the direction favourable to him. Honestly looking at 2026, any team is going to be somewhat of a gamble, so why not join a team that has their own power unit and knows how to win races and championships albeit in other categories of racing.
I feel like Mercedes is a better option but that all depends on Antonellis performance
That a very safe compromise. Big money and less pressure.
agreed. Audi can easily axe current non performing Sauber team member and rebuild the team around Sainz.
@@nikunjjain1089 Short term, maybe. I think long term if he has input in the 2026 car Audi is the far better option.
That is only if Sainz is willing to wait at least a year before getting a car that's even remotely competitive, and assuming the 2026 Audi won't be a dud on launch, like the 2022 Mercedes
I would bet on Audi like Lewis did with Merc. Its the best choice.
Mercedes started out as Ilmor with plenty of data from McLaren and Brawn. Audi are starting from scratch with no engine and a team that has never really flourished. This is very brave.
Ok but lets say the only options are Audi, Williams or Alpine. Williams are 10 years behind in Facilitys and strucure. Alpine fucks themselves with politics instead of focusing on the car.
@@Andrew-vx2ls Their experience making engines for mclaren in the 2000s won't have helped as much as you think, Ilmor's experience with turbo indy v8 might, but really it came down to a massive budget and a headstart on engine development.
@@Andrew-vx2ls Audi had a prototype F1 engine from Porsche tho. Who knows how good it was, but they had something to work with anyway. But next rule cycle is way more simple. I don't expect big differences or difficulties from teams. If the hybrid part will be the key then Audi is a great bet, they have experience in generating and managing more power than F1 will allow.
If he has a long term deal with Audi it's a no brainer really. Idk why he is waiting this long. He is risking having no seats or only Williams left. Betting way too much on Red Bull, specially now that Horner seems to have more power than ever
I can't believe Stroll and sergeant have a seat next year and carlos does not.
Well don't forget this is what happened to Sergio Perez in 2020, he got fired by Racing Point to sign Vettel. Then luckily for him he got signed at RB and unlucky for Albon demoted as a test driver....
I would be shocked if Sergent has a seat next year. He isn't good enough for F1.
I can't see Logan retaining his seat next year unless he massively ups his form and fast or Alex leaves the team and therefore Williams will want at least one stable driver. Sadly Sargeant's days are numbered.
Logan doesn’t have a seat for next year.
Shows how much motorsports is about having strong sponsors ready to put a pedal to the metal backing you. If Sainz had somebody like that, he would probably find a seat in no time. I assume he does not.
Is George Russell safe? I'd be more likely to sign Carlos for a multi-year deal and pit him against Russell while Antonelli goes to Williams next year. Towards the end of 2025 it can then be a fight between Russell and Kimi for the other Merc seat.
Yes, after Lewis leaving I think George is safe for the foreseeable future.
I’d go as far to say Mercedes should keep Antonelli in F2 for 2025
Yeah that has some merit to it.
So taking Logan’s seat then? Not a bad shout.
No, I don't think Russell is safe. There are clear signs already that there's disappointment from both sides. Mercedes clearly doesn't see him as someone to lead the team and he's frustrated because he originally would be the team's #1 driver, but instead he had to fight Hamilton for three years. Of course, he can absolutely nail the next season and prove that, yes, he can be the new team leader. Another "proof" that Mercedes doesn't really trust Russell is because they're trying to push Antonelli so hard into the team the next season. So, yeah, don't be surprised if he leaves by the end of next year.
The 18+ bots are absolutely disgusting.
Report them then....
@@insertgenericusernamehere2402there are everywhere recently.
I don't see any bot posts.
@@2011blueman I suggest scrolling down the comments. Trust me on this.
they stole someone else's comment, and gets hundreds of likes, eww
Not going to lie, I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't have a seat in F1 for 2025. I think he wants to get a seat in a top team and when he realizes it might not be possible the seat for Audi will already be gone.
So you were gonna lie?
Exactly what happened the Audi ship has sailed which is a shame
I think Sainz’s biggest problem is Checo having a significantly better season thus far (three 2nd and a 3rd place out of five races, second in the standings). Had Checo started as he’d performed last season, Carlos would be all but nailed on for a Red Bull seat.
Car difference?
What are you talking about? Checo started last year even better, he won 2 of the first 4 races then he dropped off.
Exactly checo is doing a very good job
@@madkent_ If you had any sense, you’d realise my comment was referring to his performances on the whole last season. I made no direct or clear comparison in relation to the first five races of each season for example. If it’s ambiguous, ask for clarification, rather than just assuming whatever suits your argument better. Shove your straw man.
@@Heathen.Deity. he’s gonna fall off again
I think he is waiting for confirmation about Verstappen after the rumours of him leaving. Getting the RB seat without Verstappen there would be his ideal seat
Agreed
Not when the team is imploding behind the scenes.
The existential dread of maybe becoming an unemployed multimillionaire
😂😂😂😂
Calling it understandable for Ferrari to sign a near 40 year old whos lost a few steps is insane.
🤦♂️
473M for a washed milton.
He finished P3 last year ahead of both Ferrari drivers.... 5 places ahead his teammate and just behind the fastest car on the grid. His supposed loss of step is better than majority of the grid tbh.
I'm Max's fan but hey Ferrari signed HAMILTON. Cant compare Saizn vs Hamilton. Different caliber
Y’all also forgetting the Ferrari put on nearly 7B in market cap the min they announced Hamilton’s signing. Pretty good way to spend 450m if you ask me 😂
The ridiculous thing is that Mercedes and RB are only playing the Sainz card but they don't really want him. If so, any of these teams would have already signed and announced him: First RB; If they wanted to replace Perez they would have already done so, it's not the first that they left him without a seat out of nowhere, just as Ferrari announced that they were replacing Sainz with Hamilton, also without prior notice. Second: Mercedes's priority is Max and their plan B is Kimi. Do you think that if one of these two teams had a potentially winning card like Sainz, would they wait for another to take it just by playing "speculation" with it? Obviously not, they would go for him even if they had to give him a better contract. Perhaps this situation is only telling us that neither MERC nor RB are not only not interested in signing Sainz with a reduced contract, but maybe they also don't want to sign him at all, which leaves us with a strange and sad situation.
Sure Mercedes want Max, but Max doesn't want the fourth-to-fifth fastest car on the grid.
@@FrancisFjordCupola And we could also believe that Sainz wants to go to Mercedes but surely they don't want to give him the contract with the years and the salary that Sainz wants
Sainz is not that good, that’s the simple fact. He has a run of 3 races and every goldfish memory fan acts like he’s Senna. But Sainz already proved he’s not capable of winning WDCs in 2022. He had a title challenging car and was beaten by Russell, nearly beaten by Hamilton. Sainz is another Perez and Bottas, except Perez and Bottas had much strong midfield seasons.
Perez and Carlos both now has a fire lit under their balls... RB are doing it as a strategy to basically have an audition from both of them. Can they handle the pressure and perform or will one crack and fall off under the pressure. If that happens then they will have their decision made as to gets the seat. It's a chess game played by billionaires
@@Mj-yh2vb Following the logic of your thinking, this would put Sainz in an even more complicated situation, given that he's the one waiting for something to happen in RB while Perez depends on himself, watching how the other doors are closing behind him if he decides to continue waiting. Audi has already taken the first step forward
Not sure that signing Hamilton is very understandable at all but the funniest part is building a team around Sir Lancelot.
I hope Carlos is able to secure a position with one of the trams that has a competitive car. He has a lot of talent that is being refined.
Audi is his only chance and should be biting their hand off to sign. Theres a risk of insulting the team the longer he leaves it. No team wants a driver that sees you as a last resort
I'm in this weird dilemma, because on the one hand I'd absolutely love for Sainz and Hulkenberg to be driving what could potentially be a racewinning Audi in 2026, BUT I'd also absolutely love to see Hulkenberg and Albon in the same car. either would be incredible
I just want some rookies to be allowed to drive racecars instead of the same retreads swapping teams
There's no way Audi will be a winning team right off the start. If all goes well, maybe around 2028. Sauber is very very well behind in everything, so Audi will have way more work than they expected to put everything in order.
I don't know if Audi will be a race winning team in 2026, but I'd say it would be very unlikely. Certainly for it to be challenging for race wins consistently.
I have the exact same thoughts. Would love for Albon to get a hopefully better car in Audi and move higher up the midfield. But also want Sainz to get a good car and best option available seems to be Audi. Would have liked both Sainz and Albon in the Audi tho.
@@gabrieldias3479agreed even 2028 seems soon, they have the *best* engine in their car but they still lack aero and chassis wise and haven’t really shown signs of huge improvements to become a front runner
It is crazy to think that Sainz is only considered a 1.5 driver not a number 1. He's probably better than most of the drivers on the bottom half of the grid. I feel bad for him because this is a terrible time for a team change.
Ironically even (now) top 3 team McLaren thought this, choosing to replace Sainz with Ricciardo despite Sainz matching Norris. Oh well.
Sainz is never considered as number 1 for top teams. Maybe number 1 for bottom half of the grid.
@@TassieLorenzoMcLaren only replaced him with Ricciardo when Sainz chose to go to Ferrari. They didn't want him to leave.
"The only driver other than Max Verstappen to win in the last 18 months" Perez:
And also Alonso:
@@purwantiallan5089when did Alonso win? Did i miss something?
@@TheDiasporaMedia You have not. He's talking rubbish.
😂@@Dre_The_Millennial
Sainz needs to be careful not to wait too long and lose his best options trying to get an even better option, more driver than seats available as always. Nico and Sainz back together will be interesting, Nico beat Sainz in 2018 by quite a far amount of points, which seems to be rarely talked about.
Was it not like 12 points? Also hes certainly gotten better from then
@@strexle7446 50 vs 70 or something, but that's 40% more points and Hulk had 5 more DNFs.
sainz has actually managed to become a more complete and consistent driver since then its been 6 years buddy , in those 6 years sainz managed to land a seat at ferrari whilst nico was on the back of the grid in what the second slowest car following the alpine ...
@@sonandhierofnothinginparti7915 He should have been better all those years ago and maybe he would have ended up in the RB rather than be beaten by Hulk instead.
If Lawrence was smart he would say "son go play with toys" and sign Sainz and get the best pair in the grid.
Audi wants Carlos, Carlos is waiting for Mercedes and Mercedes is waiting for Verstappen
💯 he will be at Audi. But would love to see him at RB as he is better than Perez.
A smart BUSINESS decision would be for Aston Martin to replace Stroll with Sainz but this is the problem when family is involved (father/son) you end up making poor decisions based solely on nepotism vs logic.
I can 100% see daddy Stroll sending his son to WEC to "lead" their Valkyrie programme.
Then you probably didnt watch the scenes where Lawrence was almost crying with proud of Lance. (He improved a little and finish ahead of Fernando in 1 occasion😂) He(Understably) loves him son and will do everything for his F1 dream. The only chance of that happening its if Lance somehow give up.
@@RoyMatzemchances are it is highly unlikely though.
Thing is, I can absolutely see a driver like Mike Conway tearing Stroll to pieces over his inability to take blame or receive criticism. He wouldn’t last a moment in the WEC. Which is a shame, because absolutely meme-worthy drivers like Sean Gelael (an infamous F2 pay-driver) have genuinely become a good team-player and a decent human being since racing in WEC. Though, his dad never tried to buy an F1 team and then push his son to the top of F1. Goes to show that it’s not just the car.
Given Aston Martin road car build quality, don't hold your breath.
@@RoyMatzem He truly is his daddy's little prince and I envy it. Lawrence seems like genuinely a really good father, albeit maybe a bit too supportive. Only time will tell if Lance manages to become a good driver or not. It's not like he should be thinking of his career and making money as that's all been sorted out already.
I surprised Toto hasn't mentioned Mick Schumacher at all as a replacement, given how much of a talented driver Toto says he is.
He also did say that about Nyck De Vries. But then didnt mind at all when he leaved. Its just a fake incentive compliment
Toto just says that out of PR/political reasons
Unfortunately, Mike is very quickly approaching his sale-by date if he hasn't already arrived there. Much too much younger talent in the wings, sorry to say because I think he has much to offer if given the chance to progress. Haas wasn't a proper platform for his growth at all.
Ive seen rumors that PREMA racing is in talks with mick s. for their indycar seat in 2025
mick is racing for wec currently.
The fact that Stroll has an assured seat while Sainz is still up in the air is absolutely criminal.
I personally wish for Sainz to join Hülk at Audi and for them to somehow bag Newey as well, seeing both Nico and Carlos in a Newey car would be a joy to see.
Imagine Sainz and Alonso in Aston 🤯
Sergio has also won some GP’s in the last 18 months though, the last being in Azerbaijan just under a year ago
he was also driving the most dominant car in the history of f1
8:21 “It is usually a given that drivers will generally get better as experience builds” Lance Stroll being the exception then?
I think the Hamilton move is a big mistake. Why would they go after a past your prim driver?
Ironically Sauber/Audi might be his best option
So why doesn't he have a seat? The teams don't like Sainz as much as the media does. Wait till the race has to pay him millions of dollars and let's see how much they look forward to having him.
I feel like Adrian Newey also influences the driver market. If Newey was convinced to re kindle his relationship with Williams, for example, Sainz gambling on Williams could potentially be a decent option.
I think Sainz's best shot is to join Sauber (then turned to Audi in 2026). He will be their main driver they will look to for car development and if/when they become championship contenders he will be the guy they prioritize.
Yes i think we can all agree Sainz should replace Stroll
My predictions sainz to merc on a one year deal later going to audi for 2026 and beyond while merc puts kimi on williams to give him a year. Meanwhile sauber continues with bottas and hass gets in bearman
Historically it is not unknown for the World Champion to not drive in the following year, eg Damian Hill became champion in 1996, but was dropped by Williams for the following season which is far more absurd.
Honestly I don't think it makes any sense that Ferrari booted Sainz for Hamilton, Hamilton just isn't as good as he used to be and I don't think he'll be able to keep up with Leclerc the way Sainz has
It's not Aston Martin, it's the "Lance Stroll Must Win Whatever The Cost Daddy Said Team". Amazing.
Hot take, Mercedes should get Sainz for the long term and put Antonelli in the Russel seat when he's ready. Sainz has proven he is a great team mate for rookies like Max and Norris. Russel however will be a lot less inviting to a up and coming team mate.
I think Sainz would be Antonelli's perfect teammate, therefore if I were Toto, I'd sign Carlos for a long term deal and put Kimi in Williams for the moment
Good analysis. The graphic introduced at 6:37 is confusing, however. Most of the teams are shown having worse performance in 2024 (compared to 2023, presumably? It doesn't say.). For example Alpine appears to have about 2% worse performance in 2024, according to the scale at the left hand side of the graphic. But each individual bar in the graph is labelled 100.xxx%, or 101.xxx%, implying that the 2024 performance is very slightly *higher* in 2024. That doesn't make sense.
I’m hopefully for a Sainz / Audi power couple.
I'm disappointed in the journalism here. If my math is correct, the last 18 months includes Checo's two wins in the beginning of 2023. You folks have poor reporting standards.
Now that 2026 brings power trains to parity of LME drive trains. Could other teams now sign up development manufacturers such as Toyota from LME ?
Its funny how aston martin "is not an option, because fernando alonso is deciding to stay". Its simply an impossibility that Strulović will be replaced 😂
Hot take, but I think Lance gets too much hate. He's not really a bad driver, he just makes too many mistakes compared to what the F1 standard should be. IMO he's not any worse than Magnussen, Sargeant or Gasly. It's just that none of those three have a good car and Alonso as a teammate (not bad car + ocon) and with way too much security in his position given his dad's ownership. It's a meme that Lance is bad and people who don't care to or can properly analyze the sport will jump on that hate train like sheep.
he's not bad he just crashes more than all the other proper drivers. seems a watertight argument 🤣
lance has been on the sport for almost a decade at this point and he hasnt been able to fix most of his short comings . Its just unfair to have him in a podium capable car alongside Fernando , when he is being found consistently hugging the barriers and not having this opportunity given to Sainz , a driver which has been the only non redbull driver to have won a race in the last two seasons . Its a matter of skill
I think I must be missing something because atonelli to merc doesn't make any sense. Surely they would promote albon to the seat and put atonelli in the Williams.
Toto is burned by missing out on Verstappen and I don't think he wants to miss another (potentially) 'generational' talent. Is Antonelli showing that level of potential in F2 at the moment? I'm not convinced, but Merc have the freedom of being able to wait and see
Albon will almost certainly be a last resort. Mercedes appear to be waiting to see how things unfold at Red Bull and will feel they can sweep Max up if he becomes available. This allows them to take their time and see how Antonelli gets on in F2. I have a feeling Albon will only become an option if Max isn’t available, Sainz won’t sign a short-term deal or goes somewhere else, or if Antonelli isn’t ready.
Albon isnt a Mercedes driver. He would cost money to break his contract and Antonelli its free and cheap. Its way more simpler just bring him.
@@ilikemilkshake22Antonelli already showed the same level of Max potential in another categories. He won 4 championship in a row with 15~17yrs. All his rivals was older than him. And he beat their ass. Maybe youre not convinced because he is in 9th. But you have to look the age/xp of the others. 1-Maloney 20y (2 seasons) 2-Aron 20y (rookie) 3-Hauger 21y (3 seasons) 4-Hadjar 19y (2seasons) 5-Maini 23y (3 seasons) 6-Enzo 21y (3 seasons) 7-Marti 18y (rookie) 8-Crawford 18y (2 seasons) 9-Antonelli 17y (rookie) So In the reality the majority of those drivers are underperforming versus Antonelli since he is so much younger and unexperienced than everyonelse.
@@RoyMatzem I agree he's performing decently, in what looks to be a bad/disjointed Prema. I'm not questioning his ability or his potential, he's clearly going to be a very, very good driver. I'm just saying is he showing enough to be an absolute no brainer move for Merc to replace Hamilton with him? I'm not sure, but happy to be convinced otherwise because he's a genuinely exciting talent
Some really great points here. Great video.
Stroll and Sainz are perfect examples that it doesn't matter how good or bad you are, companies'shareholders are playing their own game and you're not invited to the table.
If Aston Martin doesn’t drop Stroll and get Sainz then they are officially a joke,
How will they ever recover from your trash talk!
Technically Aston is also an option...technically
Technically Lance Stroll is a human being...technically
It makes very good sense when you consider the fact that he shows performance that is worthy of a front running team, he is actually best to get a good deal at a strong team
Also, it should be noted that Toto was in a similar situation before and he didn't give Max the seat when he had one and then lost him to RB. He won't make that mistake again.
sainz is good but not champion material, more of a top second driver
Wrong
He can win a championship if he gets a dominant car and gets very lucky against his teammate (like in 2021 and 2023). Buth other than that, the most he can hope for is a few career wins.
I think Sainz is good enough to do a Button or a Rosberg! Sainz already beat drivers like Norris and Leclerc over a season with a bit of luck, he could to the same to take the WDC with a bit of luck; or be the lead driver in a very good car like Button with Brawn.
It’s not understandable to get Lewis!
It screams meddling from John Elkin to raise the share price 😅
Lewis beat Sainz and Leclerc in an inferior car last season and was the only driver to legitimately challenge Perez for 2nd. He’s struggling this season in a tricky car but there’s no evidence that Sainz would do better in Lewis’ seat. Given how he completed bottled 2022 in a title challenging car and almost got beaten by Lewis lmao/
@@paperplane-db8qfhere come the bongs to defend their mocha Jesus 😂
@@quigglyzkeep crying Your life is worthless 😂 That’s all you can do
@@quigglyz what´s to defend? Data and stats say Lewis has been better in the past year and more. If Sainz was the title worthy driver he would not be in this position in the first place.
Keeping Lance Stroll if Sainz was available and willing to join would be a huge mis-step. If they’re genuinely serious, this shouldn’t even be a decision.
Can we appreciate how much of a genius hire Sainz was? When ferrari picked him to replace vettel I think we all thought "solid midfield driver to partner the golden boy" Honestly, both lando and sainz are incredibly lucky that he moved, as both their value really shone when they werent together
It’s not impossible Sainz has already signed and it hasn’t been made public. For example, Sainz may have signed with Red Bull, but they’re keeping it under-wraps with everyone to motivate Sergio to perform for the rest of the season - obviously this is a long shot
What a fool, it's the other way around. 😂
Sainz with Red Bull probably could be a dream scenario if it truly happening.
Building your project around Stroll is like building a Igloo in Sahara
Silly to say that Red Bull could match Audi’s offer if they wanted. They are paying huge money for Max and, ultimately, they’re running a business so won’t want to pay huge amounts for what is ultimately a number 2 driver. It doesn’t mean they’re not keen - they might be very keen to have him drive the second car - but they would never be paying huge salaries for a seat that every other driver on the grid would bite your hand off for.
Please Red bull just take him, you won't regret it!
Please no for fcks sake i don't want to see him waste his prime years as a clear 2nd driver
@@almabatekert_villanykorte3387but the problem is that any other team he picks, he'll have a bad car
@@almabatekert_villanykorte3387Exactly. Carlos can take the fight to Max but the car will be so difficult to extract full performance. I'd rather him be at Sauber/Audi and if doesn't work out then he can go to a top team.
The problem he faces is that in F1, you're only as good as your last few races. So he risks being quickly forgotten by the top teams in '25, while he messes about in a Sauber at the back of the grid... His only hope will be to outperform the car consistently, thereby doing a Sergio in a Racing Point.
@@kgreig8365 I have lots of faith in Audi when they take over,but maybe i'm just too optimistic and Carlos is right to try and get the redbull seat
We all want 2025 to have a championship fight between: Carlos at Redbull Max at Mercedes Charles and Lewis at Ferrari Fernando at Aston Lando and Oscar at McLaren
Max is not going to Mercedes at least for the next two years. Also, Oscar is struggling a bit compared to Lando in race pace.
yup the max to merc news are getting stronger with newey leaving so no wonder we can see carlos as lead driver for Redbull 2025
@@jivewigbuddy max is leaving RB when newey leaves.
A 5 team battle for the title would be borderline impossible
what about Lance? I feel like he is going to start to take the hand of F1 any time soon
Williams with Albon vould be a good move. Two strong drivers in a team that looks to be improving and with good personnel. That team starts getting consistent pounts finishes and they could attract talent and become a force again in a few years.
Honest question: is "dead cert" a new British slang term for "dead certainty"? I've never registered it, and The Race have used it in their last two videos.
Ferrari is going to be very disappointed with Hamilton…he’s done!
Keep crying all season 😢😂
The driver that finished second in last weekend's sprint race is done. Ok.
How many more videos on Carlos Sainz potential unemployment and his inability to negotiate a decent contract for himself do we need. Every other week you do a new one.
A Sainz-Hulk combo would be pretty nice, also building up with a team seems to be what ends up producing championships.
Its interesting when you break it down like that; I get to play "What would I do if I were Sainz?". I think I would, presuming no Red Bull or Mercedes seat, go to Williams on a 1+1 type deal where I have the better side of the break clauses. I wouldn't expect Carlos to be chasing millions over trying to win a title. Williams have the engine deal with Mercedes, which is surely best engine, they have an extremely professional operator in Vowles righting the ship. Its easy to imagine Sainz outperforming the car/team, keeping his market value high while scouting for a title-winning car.
"The completely understandable decision for Ferrari to sign Hamilton" Erm no, it's completely understandable for Hamilton to join Ferrari, but for Ferrari it's a major mistake to sign him and ditch Carlos.
And yet he’s still going to Ferrari Keep on crying 😢 😂
@@j-b-y6707 you'll be crying in 2025 when he becomes Vettel 2.0. Enjoy your brief moment of happiness before inevitability punches you in the mouth :)
@@j-b-y6707 What part of my post made you think he wasn't going to Ferrari? And why would you think i have something to cry about? i simply said i think it's a great thing for Lewis but a bad thing for Ferrari
With all of the silly season stuff I was trying to think of a tier list for drivers based off of how the teams are rating the drivers. Here’s what I got: World champion caliber: Hamilton, Leclerc, Max, Lando, Fernando Top team #2/top midfield driver: Checo, Sianz, Piastri, George, Albon, Hulkenberg Solid midfield driver: Gasly, Albon, Bottas, Yuki No one wants them: Stroll, Sargent, Ricciardo, Zhou, Maggnusen
Idk why Hamilton thinks he can beat LeClerc in the same car when he can’t beat Russell 😂😂
@remek5758 He won’t Leclerc will destroy him next year
He beat Leclerc last season in a worse car. And Russell would probably destroy Leclerc given how Leclerc is performing against a mediocre driver like Sainz.
The other absurd situation is what happened at Sauber. Valtteri and Zhou being told they have no future with the team next year and leaving them without rides is ridiculous as they have been nothing but absolutely sabotaged BY Sauber this entire season, stemming from all the issues that they have had with car mechanical issues and reliability, and absolute incompetence in the pits.
I wonder how much unrestricted development/prototyping Audi may have been doing outside the confines of F1 regulations, before getting officially envolved, that other teams have not been allowed to do? Though without F1 experience, does their massive racing experience give them an angle of advantage that other teams lack? Interesting 🤔
What absurdity Edd? Sainz is barely above mid, regardless of form.
Perez is Meh so RedBull should take Sainz immediately. Other 2 options are Mercedes for stability just like he wants. Or Aston Martin. Him and Alonso would do great things. What about Lance you ask? we all know he should not be in a F1 seat...
How is Mercedes stable when Toto has made it clear that Antonelli is coming in by 2026. That means Carlos would have to destroy Russell throughout 2025 to even stay at Mercedes.
@@stevenjoseph6048 Hmm but why would they gamble tho? When Sainz is literally top 2-3 right now. Mercedes work close with Willliams. Im sure they would take Antonelli in a heart beat instead of Logan no?
Perez is enough. They have a title winning driver in VER, they only need a second driver that gives enough points for a constructor title.
@stevenjoseph6048 why not a one year contract at merc and a move to audi afterwards? Take a year in indy car, win le man and come back for the 2026 start.
@@TjIrineu I agree. But for some reason everyone and their mom is talking like Max could leave. And if that happens for some magical reason. Sainz could continue dominating races with RedBull. IMO of course.
please do a video on Alex Albon’s options. Can he move to Audi?
His best bet is to continue his current form - it worked out very well for Checo in 2020.
Chinese F4 here we go!
You guys do know that a contract means nothing, right? Any team and driver can buy their way out of the contract. So, realistically speaking, Sainz could end up anywhere or nowhere, and any speculation right now is pointless. Milking another story...
Not really. Because every contract have a release clause value. For example, Albon could leave and join another team right? Yes, but since he have a contract with Williams for 2025. Someone would have to pay this realease clause. And then comes the question why i would pay a clause for Albon if i can get Sainz without paying? So in the end, contracts are very important and will define where Carlos goes next year.
Because of a myriad of problems affecting MB for the past two years and it looks like this year as well, MB is no longer a "top" team for Sainz, especially if he will be moving to Audi in 2026.
I'm just wondering if sainz is a better development driver compared to a proper racer like Michael, alonso or lewis which will be a very useful asset to Audi, AM or lower end teams.
The biggest Ferrari didi signing the average Hamilton instead of the rising Sainz
Enough with this crap, please
Average Hamilton beat Sainz in 2023 in a slower car. Nearly beat him in an uncompetitive Mercedes in 2022 while Leclerc was challenging Max for the title. 😂 Maybe Sainz is scared about going being Hulkenbergs teammate and getting destroyed again like in 2018.
LeClerk is a hot-lapper, hence the qualifying pace. Sainz is a racing driver, hence the results. It is better to have a racing driver on your team, not a hot-lapper.
Well as per the stats, the "hot-lapper" is ahead in both qualifying and the races.
And who has more wins?
I don’t think it will happen, but I sincerely hope that a senior figure (f.e. Newey) goes to AM. In that case it is not unlikely that they would want Lance gone, this would open up a spot for sainz, which he would probably want. Also the only probable secenario in which Lance will be yeeted from AM
Sainz has had many chances; RedBull, Ferrari, etc. maybe he’s worn out his welcome. Seems he’s doing a Perez, driving wheels off the car in his last year, but fairly unremarkable before SLH was signed to Ferrari. Maybe he felt his seat was safe until it wasn’t . Also maybe LeClerc has a better team dynamic than moody Carlos . That Alonzo energy can be a burden. AUDI seems to be a solid fit, start a team and assert influence and dominate the team.