David Coulthard tells Carlos Sainz what decision he should make about his 2025 future

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If there’s one former driver who knows how Carlos Sainz is currently feeling, it’s David Coulthard.

The 53-year-old Scotsman started his career at Williams and faced the nearly impossible task of replacing Ayrton Senna after his death at Imola in 1994.

David Coulthard shared the drive with Nigel Mansell and after two seasons he made the switch to McLaren.

Coulthard went on to win 12 races in nine seasons before he was replaced by Juan Pablo Montoya and he had to find a new seat on the grid.

The Scottish driver was speaking on the Beyond The Grid Podcast about his experience in trying to find a new team and related it to Carlos Sainz.

Sainz discovered before the season had started that he wouldn’t be with Ferrari for 2025.

Lewis Hamilton decided he wanted to experience life at Maranello before the end of his Formula 1 career.

Charles Leclerc had already signed a new deal with the team, meaning Sainz was the driver that had to give way.

Coulthard has explained what Sainz needs to do when it comes to choosing which team to race for in 2025.

He related it to his move to Red Bull when they first entered Formula 1 and why the Spaniard shouldn’t be too concerned about the long-term prospects of any of the teams on the grid.

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

David Coulthard offers advice to Carlos Sainz about his Formula 1 future

Coulthard was asked about the parallels between him leaving McLaren and Sainz leaving Ferrari at the end of the year.

He was asked about what advice he would have for the Spaniard and said: “In modern Formula 1, I would definitely with his talent and his age and everything I would go for performance.

“I would go for whatever car next year I believe is going to give me performance on track.

“I would not think about 2026 because nobody knows, whatever the rumours are, rumours that Mercedes have the best engine, rumours that Red Bull have a problem.

“All of these things, I saw a quote from Christian [Horner] this weekend saying, the guy that’s leaving to go to Ferrari must have seen [what Mercedes were doing for 2026].

“Nobody truly knows until the car goes out on the track because if they truly knew, then at the highest level all of those teams would be delivering the same car in terms of performance because they’ve all got the same regulations.

“If I’d had a one-year opportunity in a team that was winning Grand Prix or looking like they were on the cusp of that, 100% [I would take it] because you go there, you assert yourself and they’ll want to keep you.”

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Carlos Sainz’s best option for 2025 might require a lot of patience

Sainz’s rivals on the grid have accused him of being a cork in the bottle of the driver’s market with a handful of seats still to fill.

Unsurprisingly, nearly every manufacturer who still need to complete their driver line-up are courting the 29-year-old.

Alpine made an improved bid to sign Sainz recently although their performance in Silverstone might have put him off joining the French team.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff hasn’t ruled out a move for Sainz and they’re by far the strongest team who still have an available seat.

However, they know they can wait as long as they want to decide on George Russell’s teammate because Kimi Antonelli is already part of their driver stable.

It’s a risky game for Sainz, but as a racing driver, he’s spent his entire career taking risks.