Lando Norris: Carlos Sainz “should have gone” to Red Bull for F1 2025
"He should have gone there, in my eyes. I'm biased - I know Carlos more than I know Checo [Perez] - but Carlos deserves a lot."
McLaren driver Lando Norris feels that Red Bull should have been Carlos Sainz’s next F1 team.
Earlier this week, Williams announced Sainz as their new driver for F1 2025, teaming up with Alex Albon.
It brings an end to months of speculation about Sainz’s future - and the wider implications on F1’s driver market.
Sainz was heavily linked with Sauber and Alpine, while he delayed his decision to see if there was an opening at Red Bull or Mercedes.
Norris, who was teammates with Sainz in 2019 and 2020 at McLaren - thinks the Spaniard deserved a call-up to Red Bull.
"I don't know what [the top teams'] plans are, but the easy one is to say Red Bull,” he told Sky.
“He should have gone there, in my eyes. I'm biased - I know Carlos more than I know Checo [Perez] - but Carlos deserves a lot.
“He's one of the best drivers in Formula 1, he's proven that countless times. I'm a good friend of his.”
Williams’ signing of Sainz is a landmark moment for the team, giving them their strongest driver line-up since 2016.
Despite being one of F1’s slowest three teams, James Vowles’ project is on an upwards trajectory.
Giving his view on Sainz’s move to Williams, Norris added: “I'm happy for him, that he's still in Formula 1, I'm happy that he got a [2025] drive and he can try to bring Williams back up.
“Him partnering Alex [Albon] will be good for Formula 1 at the same time.
“That's a good thing, but I'm sure a lot of people would love to say that he should have gone to Red Bull, potentially. But that's not my decision to make.”
Red Bull have backed Sergio Perez until the end of the season - but his future for next year is unclear with Helmut Marko teasing potential changes in 2025.
