Carlos Sainz is one of 12 F1 drivers without a contract for next season as he will leave Ferrari at the end of this year with Lewis Hamilton joining the team; F1 returns to Shanghai for the first time in five years for the Chinese GP on April 19-21, live on Sky Sports F1
Thursday 11 April 2024 06:47, UK
Carlos Sainz is keen to "speed up" his contract negotiations as he looks to secure a seat on the 2025 F1 grid.
Sainz, who took another podium on Sunday at the Japanese Grand Prix, will leave Ferrari at the end of this year as he's replaced by Lewis Hamilton.
The 29-year-old has been linked with Mercedes, Aston Martin, Red Bull and Sauber, who will become Audi from 2026.
A move to Mercedes would signal a straight swap with Hamilton, joining Aston Martin would likely mean replacing Fernando Alonso and switching to Red Bull would be in place of Sergio Perez, unless Max Verstappen surprisingly leaves.
Audi's takeover of Sauber means there could be a new line-up, with the current pairing of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu far from certain.
"I'm talking to a few [teams] because that's what my management team and myself should do when I don't have a job for next year yet. So, we're talking to pretty much all of them," said Sainz.
"It's just a matter of obviously going more into detail and seeing the more realistic options and what are the best options for me and for my future, which I don't have any news for you or nothing to say here.
"The only thing I would say is that, obviously it's time now to speed up a bit everything and hopefully we can get it sorted sooner rather than later."
Over the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, Perez stated he expects to know what his future is in "a month" and Toto Wolff stated "some of the really good guys are about to sign for some of the other teams" when asked about Mercedes' seat alongside George Russell for 2025.
Sainz made his F1 debut in 2015 but has never been rated this highly as he is the only non-Red Bull race winner in the last 18 months, after winning the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix and the Australian Grand Prix earlier this season.
He is also outperforming Charles Leclerc at Ferrari this season and, along with Alonso, is the best driver without a contract for next year.
"I have no clue where I will be next year. It's true we're talking to many teams," Sainz told Sky Sports F1 after his third place in Suzuka.
"I just need to keep focused on what I'm doing, prove to myself and everyone that when I'm given a fast car, I maximise what I'm given and I deliver.
"It's been a strong start to the season. With this car you can shine a bit more. With last year's car, I did performances similar to this year but you couldn't shine.
"It was a much more difficult car to drive, a lot more degradation and you were looking backwards in the race. This year you are looking forwards and are overtaking, which allows you to shine a bit more. It helps but I will keep pushing."
He added: "It also depends on other teams, what they choose to go for. They know I'm available, so let's see what happens."
Next up is the return of the Chinese Grand Prix on April 19-21, which is also the first Sprint weekend of the season. You can watch every session live on Sky Sports F1 and steam every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership - No contract, cancel anytime
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