Marko has been in the news talking of the driver options for the two Red Bull Teams.....
One obviously regarding Sainz, which from the way Marko spoke, spoke Carlos has offers already that seem to put him out of the RB picture. He also went on to discuss the Ricciardo side of the plan and specifically the Lawson factor.
Re Carlos we have for a long time been aware of Sauber / Audi being more than keen on Carlos and it seems he has a financially attractive offer from Sauber which implies an impending deadline to accept / decline. (End April is rumoured)
Marko, was publicly courting Sainz at Suzuka last time out and there Marko also claimed
"Audi is making pressure" on the 2025 driver market. Now in China he has added.....of Sainz:
"We're talking to him, he's having his strongest season in F1, but he has a very lucrative offer from Audi that we can't match or beat..
So it seems Red Bull is out of the running. Carlos of course feels that Red Bull didnt do the right thing last time when he was treated like a second class citizen over the clear support of Max. Of course history tells of Sainz quitting Red Bull and heading to Renault. Whereas that was arguably a step up from Toro Rosso as it was then, it was hardly a successful period, no podiums and an average pointscore of just over two per race pretty much stalled his career. Enough to have given him an intimate knowledge of committing to a second string tam and clearly that is going to be influencing him over signing up for a team like Sauber, even with the promise of Audi involvement. Its is a clear drop from the race and podium winning record he has enjoyed at Ferrari and even McLaren where he spent a couple of years after leaving Renault. Of course Carlos to Red Bull in place of Sergio will be a cost to Red Bull given Sergio brings in Mexican money that covers his retainer..... that would stop if Sergio was not there.
Sainz as we know is too good for Sauber, and it would entail a frustrating pre Audi spell. Compounded by the fact Audi will take at least a season getting their act together. They wont be top shelf in year one.
However the lucrative offer wont be such an issue for Mercedes given they are currently paying lottery win money to Lewis. Whatever the Audi offer to Carlos is it will be a lot less thn Toto was paying Lewis.
So, although there are only 2 teams with its line up settled for next year, McLaren and of course Ferrari. Aston Martin of course are another one Carlos was talking too but now his Spanish mate has decided to continue with Aston.
Realistically for Carlos its Mercedes or Sauber / Audi. Sauber will give him a nice pay day but little short term opportunity. Mercedes should be able to give a better opportunity and a decent wage. Any of the other teams with vacancies offer less.... they will be for less $$$ and also limited opportunity.
I do hope Mercedes and Carlos can work something out. Carlos is too good to be driving for Sauber. I just want him to be in a car capable of allowing him to continue to beat Leclerc and indeed Lewis in his old seat. It would be glorious for Carlos to beat Lewis in Carlos's old seat.
As for Danny Ric / Lawson / VCARB it seems Lawson is free to talk to other teams if neither of the Bull teams come up with something for next year. It seems Marko would like to and is trying to get Lawson something this year for evaluation for next year. Sargeant should be looking over his shoulder, especially as I have read Sareant is on a contract that is pretty much race to race nowadays. It also must have Danny keen to improve his showing this year.
Marko is far from saying there wont be a change at VCARB this year, even if the Danny has until Miami to prove his worth rumours we read of round the AGP.
Marko also sought to clarify recent rumours regarding the driver line-up at RB given Daniel Ricciardo's poor start to the campaign and his successful 2023 injury replacement, Liam Lawson, still without a full-time F1 drive.
Regarding reports of a possible Ricciardo/Lawson in-season swap that have emerged in the New Zealand and Italian press in recent weeks, Marko said: “With Liam Lawson as a reserve driver, we obviously have a strong driver in the team who is contractually entitled to drive for another team if he doesn't get a cockpit with us in 2025,” he continued.
“In this respect, it would of course be exciting for us if we could see him in Formula 1 this year to get an even clearer picture.
“But it's a complex issue, so we'll have to see how things progress.”
