Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed he wouldn’t rule out Carlos Sainz returning to the Milton Keynes outfit in 2025 after the Spaniard’s impressive victory for Ferrari at the Australian Grand Prix.
In Melbourne, Sainz, still recovering from an appendectomy, passed pole-sitter Max Verstappen – who was struggling with brake issues – on lap two and went on to win the race.
After the Dutchman retired on lap four, Sainz comfortably kept Charles Leclerc at bay to secure his first win since last year’s Singapore GP, making him the only driver apart from Verstappen to have won a race since last April.
For 2025, Sainz will be replaced at Ferrari by Lewis Hamilton. This has made the Spaniard the most sought-after free agent on the driver market.
Speculation has largely centered around Sergio Perez’s seat should he not extend his deal, with names like Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda, and Liam Lawson being mentioned as potential Red Bull replacements.
However, given recent rumors that Fernando Alonso is also on Red Bull’s radar for Aston Martin, Horner has hinted that the team would consider drivers outside its own stable.
“I think we want to field the best possible combination for Red Bull Racing, and sometimes you’ve got to look outside of your own stable,” Horner said before mentioning Sainz. “You see a very fast, unemployed driver winning today’s race. So the market can change quite quickly with individual drivers.”
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Ferrari
Sainz was previously part of the Red Bull family, racing for Toro Rosso from 2015 to 2017 before moving to Renault. During his time there, he partnered with Verstappen, Daniil Kvyat, and Pierre Gasly.
When asked by Motorsport.com if he would consider bringing Sainz back, Horner replied, “Well, look, on the back of a performance like that, you can’t rule anything out, so I think you just take a bit of time to make those decisions.”
“Obviously, Checo has been impacted today. He’s had a great start to the season as well, so we’re not in a rush. Carlos is the only driver to beat Red Bull last year, so he seems to be our nemesis.”
When queried about whether his strong showing in Melbourne, just two weeks after his appendectomy, might have increased his market value, Sainz commented, “I don’t know. Of course, it doesn’t hurt, that’s for sure. My seat is not sorted for next year, so I guess it helps. Everybody more or less knows what I’m capable of.”
“I don’t race to prove my value to team principals or anyone else. I race to prove it to myself, that if I have a car, I can deliver, I can fight for wins. That’s my mindset and approach, and I’ll keep that for the rest of this year.”
