Red Bull told to make Carlos Sainz swoop before he’s raced for Williams
Red Bull have been advised to try to get Carlos Sainz out of his Williams contract so he can replace Sergio Perez.
Ex-F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has urged Red Bull to make a U-Turn and sign Carlos Sainz to partner Max Verstappen for 2025.
Red Bull passed on the opportunity to secure outgoing Ferrari driver Sainz’s services and instead decided to continue backing Sergio Perez, whose position remains uncertain despite holding a contract for next season due to his poor performances.
After several starring drives as a stand-in for Williams, Franco Colapinto has seen himself emerge as a potential option for Red Bull - either at the senior team or sister squad RB. Williams cannot offer the Argentine a permanent seat for next year having committed to Sainz.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was seen visiting Williams’ hospitality over the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, ramping up speculation that Colapinto is being considered by Red Bull.
But Montoya believes Red Bull should try and get Sainz out of his Williams contract before he has even raced for the team. Such a scenario would open the door for Colapinto to stay alongside Alex Albon in a full-time capacity.
“If I were Christian Horner and the director of Red Bull, I would go to Williams and say, ‘look, you’re happy with Colapinto, keep him and give me Sainz’,” he told W Radio Colombia.
“Why am I going to take the risk of replacing Checo – who is experienced in Formula 1, has won races – to put a rookie against Max.
‘A rookie against Albon is tough, but you can do it. And look at Albon, whenever he has been under pressure and has had a fast team-mate he has crashed and continues to do so.
“Max doesn’t make mistakes and he doesn’t fail, so it’s complicated.”
Montoya added: “Personally, if I were Christian, I would say to him, ‘do you like Colapinto so much and do you want to make him grow?’”
“Me knowing Carlos, I think he has told Williams that he signed for them, but if he doesn’t win or do podiums, if someone offers me something, every year I can leave.
“Then they [Red Bull] could say to [Williams], ‘you can lose Carlos now or in a year, now you get money and next year you get no money’.
“If it was like that, that’s the move I would make for Red Bull, I wouldn’t go for Colapinto, I would go for Carlos.”
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