Audi want to bring in Carlos Sainz to complete their first Formula 1 driver line-up, but former Haas team boss Guenther Steiner feels they will be left waiting until Red Bull and Mercedes act.
One half of their line-up is already complete with Nico Hulkenberg on his way over from Haas, but if Sainz is to complete it, then Steiner does not think such a decision will be made before Red Bull and Mercedes have decided their 2025 line-ups. “Carlos will know he has an option at Sauber, which will become Audi in 2026. I think they are keen to have him onboard. But I don’t think Carlos is in a hurry to sign anything until he knows the doors to the big teams are closed.
“So, Carlos can wait. He will not be without a good seat in the end. It’s just a question of how good that seat is.”And Steiner believes that Sainz has a major weapon in his arsenal in the form of his father, two-time World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz Sr. “He’s won two world championships himself in rally and he won the famous Dakar Rally at over 60 years old – he’s always in the right car at the right time.