F1 News: Hill Urges Sainz To Consider Audi For 2025 - 'Not Going To Come In Half-Baked'

Lydia Mee | Apr 14, 2024

Oct 22, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Scuderia Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz (55) of Team Spain is / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Former F1 champion Damon Hill and ex-driver Pedro de la Rosa both claim that Carlos Sainz's best move for 2025 is Audi. This comes as the Spanish driver is set to be replaced at Ferrari next year by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.

Key Takeaways:

• With Fernando Alonso extending his contract with Aston Martin, Carlos Sainz remains one of the few top-tier drivers yet to secure a seat for 2025.
• Audi, transitioning from Sauber, shows significant interest in Sainz, as highlighted by both Damon Hill and Pedro de la Rosa.
• The 2025 driver market is expected to be much more active than last year with now 12 driver contracts up for expiry.

Carlos Sainz, a prime candidate in the current driver market, finds himself at a career crossroads. Following Fernando Alonso's decision to stay with Aston Martin, the doors to one of the coveted seats have closed for Sainz, pushing him to consider other viable options, including a potential move to Audi.

According to Pedro de la Rosa, the upcoming season might not witness significant changes, except for the well-discussed switch of Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari, despite the number of contracts due to expire this year. However, 2026 promises more upheaval due to substantial regulatory changes affecting both car and engine designs.

Audi's courtship of Sainz signifies a crucial move by the manufacturer, which is keen to mark its entry into Formula 1 with a strong driver lineup. Former F1 champion Damon Hill suggests that Audi’s approach to F1 will be anything but tentative. Hill believes Audi will provide a compelling package to attract Sainz, considering the team’s ambitions and resources.

"A company like Audi are not going to come into F1 half-baked so they could be offering Carlos a huge amount to go to what is Sauber at the moment but will be Audi eventually," Hill explained on the F1 Nation podcast.

Pedro de la Rosa also weighed in, commenting:

"There's so many question marks about what will happen with Mercedes, with Red Bull so I think that it is just up to Carlos to decide if he wants to join either Audi or wait and see if there's anything opening up. We are in the silly season in April basically. It's happening four months too early."