Carlos Sainz admits he “did not understand” why Red Bull opted not to sign him for the 2025 F1 season amid rumoured tension between the Spaniard and Max Verstappen. Spanish driver Sainz was initially without a seat for this year after Lewis Hamilton joined Ferrari, and eventually moved to Williams to partner Alex Albon.

Carlos Sainz has said he still does not understand why Red Bull did not sign him as Max Verstappen's teammate for this season.

The Williams driver raced alongside Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso in 2015, but was passed up for a move to Red Bull after he was dropped by Ferrari for 2025

Sainz, who lost his Ferrari seat to Lewis Hamilton for 2025, ultimately signed with Williams after no top-team deals materialised. However, with Yuki Tsunoda struggling since replacing Liam Lawson just two races into the season, speculation is mounting that Sainz could return to Red Bull, a team he left nearly a decade ago.

Carlos Sainz admitted without hesitation that he would have accepted the chance to race alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull, despite the fact that their time together during their rookie year at Toro Rosso in Formula 1 wasn’t exactly smooth.

Carlos Sainz expresses confusion over Red Bulls choice not to sign him as Max Verstappens team-mate for the 2025 Formula One season.

Williams driver Carlos Sainz reflects on being overlooked by Red Bull for this year after being let go by Ferrari; watch every session of the Sprint weekend in Belgium, starting with Practice at 11.30am and Sprint Qualifying at 3.

Carlos Sainz: "I was completely shocked. I went from believing I was going to be in Ferrari for a while, to suddenly, Lewis is replacing me."