Carlos Sainz made one ‘short-term’ comment before his F1 debut that might have cost him his Red Bull chance

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Carlos Sainz is entering his 11th season in Formula 1 this year with a new team after leaving Ferrari to join Williams.

Sainz’s new project is one for the future, with Williams having failed to finish in the top half of the Constructors’ Championship since 2017.

He has come a long way from the Red Bull junior that he was when he entered the sport to be Max Verstappen’s teammate at Toro Rosso in 2015.

His first Formula 1 victory arrived in 2022 with Ferrari before they opted to drop him in favour of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton for 2025.

There were options elsewhere for this year, but Helmut Marko was hesitant to partner Sainz with Verstappen at Red Bull, 10 years on from their rookie seasons as teammates in 2015.

After Liam Lawson was announced to the seat instead, Sainz thinks Red Bull did him a favour by overlooking him for 2025 and admitted that he wasn’t the right driver to replace Sergio Perez.

How Carlos Sainz’s ‘short-term’ F1 approach may have cost him a Red Bull seat

Heading into the 2015 Formula 1 season, Sainz had plenty of single-seater racing under his belt. He had five seasons in such machinery, compared to Verstappen’s one.

He was the more experienced option which many would have thought made him the next pick for a Red Bull drive.

When one arose in 2016 after Daniil Kvyat was dropped by the team, they promoted Verstappen instead, killing Sainz’s dreams of a promotion to the senior team.

READ MORE: Martin Brundle explains why unusual behind-the-scenes issues blocked Carlos Sainz joining Red Bull

Looking back at his comments to the F1 website in 2015, it’s clear that Toro Rosso was a part of his short-term plan, but his eyes were on a Red Bull seat beyond that.

“Yes, I have: I will have a short-term approach. I prefer not to start thinking how long I will last at Toro Rosso – I prefer to think how my first race will be, how Melbourne will be,” he said.

“At the end of the year, I will have time to think ‘future’. To be a champion one day. And every day I will work to be a better driver, a better professional to one day achieve that goal. Spain is ready for a second name in the F1 annals!”

Why Carlos Sainz will never be Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull

It’s well-known that both Verstappen and Sainz didn’t get along too well in their earlier days, but both have matured a great deal since then.

Rejection in 2016 was a bitter note for the Spaniard. With Ricciardo stable at the time, it was effectively a wait of three or more years for a chance at promotion again or find a seat somewhere else situation.

He took the latter option and it took a while for him to get a drive at the front of the field, but after stints at Renault and McLaren, Ferrari finally came calling.

READ MORE: Red Bull won’t ‘publicly admit’ main reason for not replacing Sergio Perez with Carlos Sainz

Sainz will never be Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull due to political issues. Harmony goes a long way to achieving success in Formula 1. Just look at how Mercedes performed with Bottas alongside Hamilton, and how Red Bull fared with Perez next to Verstappen.

Time will tell if he gets to stand on the podium again with Williams, but for now, he has another project on his hands to lead a third team to the front of the field in the last five years.