Carlos Sainz revealed that there were “a lot” of talks with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff about joining for F1 2025.
However, the Spaniard admits that he never came close to having a contract in his hand, as Mercedes searched for their Lewis Hamilton replacement.
Carlos Sainz was not close to being a Mercedes driver
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Hamilton sparked last year’s ‘silly season’ into a very early frenzy by announcing that he would leave Mercedes after that campaign to join Ferrari, at the expense of Sainz.
It meant Sainz drove the entire 2024 season knowing it was his final with Ferrari, and after being linked with teams up and down the grid, including Red Bull and Mercedes, Sainz ultimately agreed a multi-year deal with Williams.
During an appearance on the High Performance Podcast, Sainz was asked if he came close to agreeing a deal with Mercedes as Hamilton’s replacement.
“Not really,” he confirmed.
Mercedes were linked with a move for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the time, Wolff admitting he would “love” to the sign the Dutchman, who secured a fourth straight Drivers’ title in 2024.
But, with that pursuit reaching a dead end, Mercedes opted to promote their teenage academy sensation Kimi Antonelli from Formula 2 to take Hamilton’s place.
“We spoke a lot with Toto and everyone else at the time and I was certainly one of the options that was considered,” Sainz continued.
“But how close was I? You can ask Toto that.
“But I think he is very happy with Kimi Antonelli.”
Antonelli’s long-term Mercedes future is uncertain, however, with Wolff once more facing key decisions over his driver line-up.
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Neither Antonelli nor George Russell are contracted beyond F1 2025, with Verstappen a potential target once more as his hopes of a fifth title in a row dwindle.
Verstappen sits P3 in the Drivers’ standings, 69 points behind leader Oscar Piastri, as the existence of a performance-related exit clause in his Red Bull contract continues to fuel speculation over a move to Mercedes.
It is believed that if Verstappen is outside of the top four in the Championship after Hungary, then he would be able to trigger the clause, leaving the Belgian and Hungarian rounds to go until that critical point arrives.
But the odds are in Red Bull’s favour based on that information, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fifth is 46 points behind Verstappen.
Wolff does not want to let the situation drag on for too much longer, his drivers waiting for a resolution on their F1 future.
“You need to be respectable towards the stakeholders in all of that process,” Wolff told the media, including PlanetF1.com, about determining Mercedes’ F1 2026 line-up.
“The organisation, the drivers, everybody, you need to understand the way forward.
“And I don’t want to be sadistic in letting a driver wait, not taking any decisions when it should be taken.
“Obviously, there’s lots of discussions around, and I’ve been open with it and transparent and at a certain stage, in the next couple of months – until the summer break, we need to know. Until the summer break, everything is going to be done.”
There is great intrigue surrounding Mercedes with new chassis and engine regulations on the way for F1 2026. The last time that Formula 1 introduced new engines in 2014, Mercedes went on a run of eighth Constructors’ title wins in a row.
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