Ferrari star Carlos Sainz Jr. has been the most succesful racer in terms of wins since last year, after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. The Spaniard has been the only non-Red Bull driver to win more than one race since 2023. Otherwise, it has been a complete Red Bull dominance. More specifically, Verstappen has dominated the grid like never seen before. From 2022 to 2023, the Dutch racer has won 34 races. As the new season already had been through four Grands Prix, the current triple-time reigning champion has won three races. The only other driver to win a race this year so far has been Carlos Sainz Jr.
The Spaniard has performed well, but he is one of several drivers without a contract for 2025. Very early in 2024, Lewis Hamilton announced that he would switch to Ferrari. Since Charles Leclerc has been under a long-term contract with the Maranello-based team, Carlos will have to make way for Hamilton at the Prancing Horse. Moreover, Red Bull has been looking for a replacement for Sergio Perez since last year. Lately, Helmut Marko said the Austrian outfit has spoken to the Spaniard about a potential move.
Red Bull Senior Advisor Hinted About Replacing Sergio Perez With Carlos Sainz Jr.
Recently, in an interview with Kleine Zeitung, an Austrian newspaper, Helmut Marko mentioned that they have been thinking about Carlos Sainz Jr. Moreover, the 80-year-old advisor added that they have been talking to him as he is having his best season in F1 so far. Despite having his strongest F1 season, why a Red Bull seat is still distant for the Spaniard? Marko clarified that Audi had given him a very lucrative offer that Red Bull couldn’t match. In 2026, Audi will be entering Formula 1. On the other hand, the Swiss-based team Sauber will become the German manufacturer’s factory team. So far, they have not won a point after four races in 2024.
Moreover, Helmut Marko mentioned that Sergio Perez also had a very strong season. He has been consistent so far in qualifying sessions as well as final race days. But if he can maintain the same form, Marko says he will certainly be the best option for Red Bull next year. On top of that, the senior advisor mentioned that Checo is a worker for the team. Moreover, Marko believes Checo learned his lesson that the radically different path he took last year about the car setup was the wrong one. Now, Marko feels the car’s setup is closer to Max Verstappen, and it has been working for him as well.
What About Daniel Ricciardo’s Stay At Red Bull?
For a long time in the last season, the Aussie driver Daniel Ricciardo was a contender for Checo’s replacement. However, he has yet to prove his worth performing at RB (previously called Alpha Tauri and also Torro Rosso). He had a very poor start to the 2024 season so far. As a result, expectations about the Aussie returning to the Red Bull seat are getting lower.
On the other hand, Helmut Marko mentioned Yuki Tsunoda in the sister team of Red Bull has the Aussie “Under his control so far.” Clearly, the challenge for Daniel Ricciardo was to beat Tsunoda to raise any hope or chance of replacing Sergio Perez, said the 80 year old Red Bull advisor. Moreover, Marko added, “That has not been the case so far. But we’ll see how things further develop.”
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