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Audi is set to announce who will partner Nico Hulkenberg in 2025, as Carlos Sainz has opted to wait for Mercedes and Red Bull before he takes a call on his future. Spanish outlet SoyMotor's Antonio Lobato reported on X (formerly known as Twitter) that Sainz was going to wait before taking a decision and the German brand has decided not to wait for him.
Audi will take over 100 percent of Sauber's shares by 2026, when it enters the sport. In the meantime, the brand has appointed Andreas Seidl as the CEO to help prepare the team in the best possible way. As part of the German takeover, the brand announced Nico Hulkenberg as the team's first signing a few days back.
Carlos Sainz, a free agent for 2025, is someone that Audi has kept a close eye on and has even extended a lucrative multi-year deal to the Spaniard. Looking at the long-term nature of the partnership and how the German team will not be competitive from the very beginning, it does appear that Sainz has opted against joining the team.
As reported by Antonio Lobato of SoyMotor, Sauber/Audi will announce its second driver soon, and Carlos Sainz has opted to sit this one out. Lobato wrote on X:
"Sauber/Audi is going to announce soon who will accompany Hulkenberg from 2025. I don't know @Carlossainz55 because he decided not to accept the offer and miss the deadline he had to respond. Accepting it would have given him peace of mind, in addition to a good financial offer, but he preferred to take the risk to see if he finds a place in a more competitive team."
"Main options: Red Bull if there is movement (it seems there is) and Mercedes. They're talking, but there's nothing yet. Mercedes wants Verstappen who is, without a doubt, the key piece of this puzzle."
Possible options for Carlos Sainz
The manner in which the driver market has been as fluid as it gets, Carlos Sainz has quite a few options still on the table. The volatile nature of Red Bull means there could be one seat where the Spaniard could end up in 2025, especially if Max Verstappen decides to pull the plug.
On the other side, there is a seat still vacant at Mercedes. Toto Wolff has been relentless in his pursuit of Max Verstappen, but that is still very much in the air.
The Spaniard has taken a risk by not going with a financially secure and long-term contract at Audi. On the contrary, he's trying to secure himself a seat at one of the top teams and not compete near the back of the grid again.
