Out-of-contract Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz is confident his “best options are still open” for 2025, despite news last week that Aston Martin has signed Fernando Alonso for another two years.
Sainz, who is the only driver other than Max Verstappen to win a race this year, will be replaced at Ferrari at the end of the season when seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton moves to the team from Mercedes.
Speculation had linked him with a move to Aston Martin in 2025, but that was before Alonso, 42, agreed to continue at the team for another two years.
Alonso’s new contract effectively takes the team off the table for Sainz as the second seat is currently occupied by Lance Stroll, the son of the team’s owner Lawrence.
Mercedes and Red Bull still only have one driver contracted for 2025 and remain possible destinations for Sainz, while the 29-year-old has also been linked to Sauber, which is due to receive significant investment over coming years as German car manufacturer Audi takes ownership of the team and uses it to enter F1 in 2026.
Sainz revealed on Thursday ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix that he has talked to “every team” about 2025, but said he would not rush into a decision.
“I think for sure all my best options are still open, and that is a positive thing and something that requires a bit of time given the situation in the market,” Sainz told reporters. “It’s going to take some time for everyone to make their own minds and their decisions, but the good options are still open.
“There hasn’t been much progress over the last two weeks, so there isn’t much to update you on. The sooner it gets to a point where everything develops the better, because at the same time it’s not like it’s affecting my performances at all this year, but it’s better you take it out of your head and the earlier the better.
“It requires time and some decision making, so as I said last week, it’s time to let that happen and see how things progress.”
As the only two teams to win world championships in the last 14 years, Red Bull and Mercedes represent Sainz’s fastest route to success on track, but he indicated that he is waiting on decisions from those teams before making his own mind up.
“When I said we’ve been talking to every team, I think you can understand that we have been talking to every team, which means every team,” Sainz added. “So…
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