Nico Rosberg claims ‘stingy’ offer made to possible Sergio Perez replacement
Nico Rosberg has let slip some F1 gossip about Red Bull's apparent driver plans for 2025.
Nico Rosberg has claimed that Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner has made a “stingy” offer to Carlos Sainz about potentially replacing Sergio Perez.
After being let go by Ferrari to make way for Lewis Hamilton, Sainz is a contender for Perez’s seat, with Horner recently admitting that the Spaniard cannot be discounted as a candidate for a 2025 Red Bull drive.
Speaking during Sky Sports F1’s live coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix, Rosberg let slip some gossip after spotting Sainz’s father speaking to Horner in the Shanghai paddock.
According to the 2016 world champion, Sainz’s camp are “trying to get a couple more million” out of Red Bull before any agreement is reached.
"You know that they have an offer out to Carlos Sainz and I saw daddy Sainz speaking to Christian Horner yesterday because Christian Horner has apparently been a bit stingy on the offer,” Rosberg said.
"So, they're trying to get a couple more million out of him!”
Sainz is the only non-Red Bull driver to win races in the past 17 months, including a brilliant victory at this year’s Australian Grand Prix on his return from an appendectomy.
The 29-year-old’s impressive form - and availability - has made him the hottest commodity in the driver market for next season.
Sainz has also been heavily linked with Audi and has reportedly received a “very lucrative offer” from the German manufacturer which Helmut Marko claimed Red Bull “cannot match or beat”.
But Horner downplayed Marko’s assertion about Sainz in China.
“First of all we’re not aware of what the offer that has been made [is], but obviously Audi coming into the sport, one would assume that they’re going to be quite aggressive in the driver market,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.
"But as you can tell with the level of interest that we have had from other drivers in our seats, for a driver of Carlos’ calibre, he wants to be in a winning car. And whilst we have one seat available for next year, his target, inevitably, is that seat.”
Horner also disputed Perez’s claim that his F1 future with Red Bull will be resolved imminently.
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