Carlos Sainz told why he will never be Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull

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The Red Bull Racing driver conundrum is likely to once again rear its head in Zandvoort this weekend.

Sergio Perez is likely to face questions about his immediate future at the Dutch Grand Prix after a poor run of form was only ended by Formula 1’s summer break.

Perez may have just four races to save his seat before Red Bull could be forced into a change in order to try and retain the Constructors’ Championship.

Red Bull have several options available to them if they want to make a change either before the end of the campaign or ahead of 2025.

Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo will both be desperate for a promotion to the senior Red Bull team, while reserve driver Liam Lawson won’t be out of contention either.

However, on the latest episode of the F1 Nation Podcast, Dutch journalist Erik van Haren ruled out one external option available to team principal Christian Horner.

At the beginning of the season, Carlos Sainz was the strongest available free agent given he had lost his Ferrari seat to Lewis Hamilton.

Sainz was holding off on deciding on his future for months, hoping a seat at a top team would become available.

Mercedes were keen on Sainz but decided against offering the Spaniard a contract and he eventually settled for a seat at Williams.

However, Van Haren has now shared why a move to Red Bull was never on the cards.

It has something to do with Max Verstappen and their previous relationship on the grid nearly 10 years ago.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height

Why Carlos Sainz was never going to be signed by Red Bull despite Sergio Perez’s struggles

Journalist Tom Clarkson asked Van Haren why Sainz wasn’t considered by Red Bull amid their issues in the second car this season and he said: “I don’t think they will put Carlos Sainz next to Max Verstappen.

“I think that’s too on the political side, it’s Formula 1, so we speak about politics as well sometimes, [but] I think that’s not a clever thing to do.

“After the 2015 season, when they were teammates at Toro Rosso at the time.

“I never think it was a concrete idea for Red Bull to put Carlos Sainz in. So no, I don’t think that will happen.”

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What Mercedes sources are saying about Max Verstappen’s Red Bull future

Verstappen’s camp has never been keen on a reunion with Sainz and it’s hard to see the Spaniard ever returning to the team that gave him his break in Formula 1.

However, Verstappen’s future has been a key talking point throughout the season as well.

Mercedes have been desperate to sign Verstappen but it appears as though an immediate deal is off the cards.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Sources at Mercedes believe he won’t move in 2025 but that doesn’t rule out a move in the future.

Toto Wolff isn’t going to give up on his preferred Hamilton replacement any time soon and Red Bull will have one eye on Verstappen replacements if he does decide to move on.

Sainz would likely be on their radar but even with Perez’s struggles, a Sainz-Verstappen partnership looks unlikely to ever come to fruition.