Sainz Puzzled by Red Bull’s Second Chance Rejection

According to the High Performance podcast, Carlos Sainz expressed his confusion about Red Bull’s decision to reject the opportunity to rejoin the team after Ferrari terminated his contract for the 2025 season.

The Spanish driver — who started his F1 career with Toro Rosso in 2015 as Max Verstappen’s teammate — emphasized that his relationship with the four-time world champion has significantly improved.

“The only thing I can say is I genuinely get on well with Max,” Sainz stated. “We had a rivalry in our first year in Formula 1 at Toro Rosso, but it was a relatively healthy rivalry in terms of how we approached racing.”

After Red Bull’s rejection, Sainz joined Williams — while the team chose to promote Yuki Tsunoda following a brief experiment with Liam Lawson. Sainz believes his experience competing against Verstappen proves his ability to race against anyone.

Sainz — who became the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race in 2023 — has proven himself alongside quality teammates such as Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and Nico Hulkenberg.