Sauber has confirmed that Carlos Sainz is the team’s leading target to complete its driver line-up in 2025 as it prepares to morph into a works Audi Formula 1 entrant.
Sainz is available on the market for next season amid Ferrari’s bombshell decision to prise Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes to partner the incumbent Charles Leclerc.
The Spaniard has been linked with both Mercedes and Red Bull, but the latter’s advisor Helmut Marko said last month that Sainz has a “lucrative” proposal from Audi.
Sainz has ties to Audi through his father, who won the Dakar Rally with the brand in January, as the outfit gears up to join F1 when new technical rules are introduced.
Sauber Team Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi has revealed that Sainz would be its preferred option to partner Nico Hulkenberg, who’s been signed from Haas.
When asked who was on the shortlist for the remaining seat it has for 2025, Alunni Bravi remarked to Motorsport.com last week that “all the teams have a short list!”
“Everybody knows that there is a top driver that is available in the market, it’s Carlos Sainz,” he said. “I think that everybody, you know, would like to have Carlos on board.
“He is one of the best drivers. He shows [himself] to be extremely mature, a good driver to develop the car, to drive the team for the development, but at the same time very consistent, very strong both in qualifying and race. And I think that Ferrari has one of the best pair of drivers.
“But we know also that the drivers market is not depending just by ourself. It is depending on different factors.
“And there are many teams that are discussing with drivers. And I think that there are several options for our team.
“And we will evaluate, but now that we announced Nico there is no rush to make this choice. We are still at the very beginning.”
Sauber’s current drivers – Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu – have both expressed a desire to remain with the squad and Bravi hasn’t ruled out either driver remaining.
Amid rumours that Sainz had missed a deadline from Audi, Bravi has clarified that Sauber is not in a hurry to make a decision on the second driver it fields next term.
“We are speaking with [Sainz] and other drivers,” he added. “Also with our current drivers.
“But this is why we have no rush, because now we secured one of the two seats. Now we can have more time.
“The decision is not an easy one. Because, of course, we have two good drivers that have been with us for three years, that are performing well.
“There is Carlos, there are other drivers, and we need to understand – because here we are taking a decision that is not just impacting 2025 but also the future of the Audi works team.
“So, I would say the duration of the contract, what could be the combination… the driver line-up is important.
“It is not just the decision of a single driver. And all the options are on the table, starting from our current two drivers and find [the one] that could fit into the overall project.”
