Carlos Sainz – the cork in the F1 driver market bottle – still has no contract for the coming season. James Vowles has already thrown the Williams door wide open for the Spaniard. The question is: does he want to move from a team like Ferrari to one that is currently second to last in the World Championship? Christian Danner: Only as an absolute emergency solution. Mercedes’ number one goal! For both sides.
Christian Danner: Carlos Sainz is clearly the best solution for Mercedes
“He was good in Silverstone, but when someone is so stable and drives around twelfth place – is he the right man to replace Hamilton at Mercedes?” Christian Danner is not a big advocate of Kimi Antonelli in the current issue of the ‘AvD Motorsport Magazine’.
Above all, because the Silver Arrow junior does not have to be put in a cockpit at any given time. “I can put him off as long as I want!” explains Danner. “Kimi can also be parked for another year.” Because the 17-year-old has a contract with Mercedes anyway.
Instead, he suggested Carlos Sainz to the Mercedes top management. “Toto now has to decide who is really the best for me?” said the expert. “And of course that is Carlos Sainz, we don’t even need to talk about it.”
For both sides. “Carlos knows that all the options he has – with the exception of the Mercedes option, which is now reopening – put him in a car where he will be back at Toro Rosso level,” says Christian Danner. “That’s not quite what he wants.”
“That is certainly the reason why he is currently intensifying his talks with Mercedes,” explains the motorsport expert. “Logically linked to the enthusiasm that the car is now at least de facto capable of winning again.”
Carlos Sainz is playing for time: Is anything better than Williams?
For this, the Madrilenian should also accept a possible one-year contract. “If he wins races in 2025, is really up there and drives on a par with Russell, do you think Mercedes will put Antonelli in the car without any need?” asks Danner and answers the question himself. “Not at all!”
“If I were him, I would definitely do that, the rest will fizzle out,” advises former Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz. “He’ll disappear somewhere and then nobody will need him anymore.” Postscript: “That’s just how it is in the Formula 1.”
That’s also the reason why the 29-year-old is waiting so long to make a decision. “Of course he didn’t agree because the car is crap,” explains Christian Danner. No matter how impatient James Vowles and co. are. “He’ll drive Williams before he drives nowhere. But as long as he has other options, he has to keep them open.”
“That’s why Carlos Sainz is doing the right thing. Even if some people are whining a bit and saying he could have said yes to me,” Danner understands. It’s not easy to decide between Audi/Sauber, Williams and Alpine. “But he didn’t because he would like to have the fastest car.”
If things don’t work out with Carlos Sainz at Mercedes, Toto Wolff could always fall back on his former protégé Valtteri Bottas. Or as Christian Danner calls him: “Maybe not the ultra burner, but a solid figure at Mercedes.” And he has won ten Grands Prix with the Silver Arrows.
Things are going well for Mercedes, but not so well for Ferrari recently. The update was more of a downgrade. You can find out all about it here.