Mercedes told to pursue ‘asset’ Carlos Sainz to replace Lewis Hamilton

Carlos Sainz has been recommended as the ideal replacement for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

Sainz won the F1 Australian Grand Prix, a race which Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Hamilton failed to finish.

Ferrari’s Sainz feat was made even more herculean because he underwent appendix surgery a fortnight ago, and was forced to hand his car over to Ollie Bearman.

Sainz will lose his Ferrari in 2025 to the incoming Hamilton and is currently without a race seat for next year although surely won’t have to wait long for offers to flood in.

“I don’t think he will be,” Sky Sports’ Naomi Schiff said.

“Carlos is a driver that provides a lot of assets to a team, more so than just speed.

“He comes with a lot of experience even though he is quite young.

“He is a solid driver. He comes with a race-thinking mentality, he’s got all pictures covered and all boxes ticked in terms of how he thinks about a race weekend.

“He’ll be a real asset to any team. I could maybe see him at Red Bull, maybe Mercedes, maybe Aston Martin.

“Who knows, but he won’t have to wait long to have a seat.”

Mercedes have a guaranteed vacancy created by Hamilton. Red Bull could be an option if they dispense with Sergio Perez or if Verstappen shockingly leaves.

Aston Martin might be on the table if Fernando Alonso lands the Mercedes drive.

But Sainz has significantly won the last two grands prix by a non-Red Bull driver after winning in Australia.

Karun Chandhok reacted: “It’s a mad world, the only driver who has beaten a Red Bull since November 2022 is out of a job for next year!

“It was a superb performance. He had the measure of Charles since the start of qualifying. He executes a perfect race.

“If you were Mercedes looking at it? You’d say ‘we have lost an established star, we’re coming into the final year of the regulations, we need an experienced driver who has shown that he cope with the pressure of winning grands prix’.

“There’s one, right here. I think he’d be a great fit alongside George Russell at Mercedes.”

The most mentioned options for Mercedes have been Alonso or their junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli so far. Verstappen then unexpectedly shot into the picture.

But team boss Toto Wolff has insisted that he will take his time before deciding on Hamilton’s replacement.

On the evidence of recent results, Sainz must surely come into his thinking.