Ferrari now think 27-year-old F1 driver is ‘serious alternative’ to Carlos Sainz

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There are suggestions that Ferrari now consider current Williams driver Alex Albon as a ‘serious alternative’ to Carlos Sainz heading into the 2025 season.

Carlos Sainz’s future is one of the most hotly talked about conversations in Formula 1 right ahead of the start of the season.

A report from Motorsport.com suggests that Ferrari are already thinking about options in case they can’t agree a deal with the Spaniard.

In an ideal world, Carlos Sainz would like to know if he’s got a future at Ferrari before the first race in Bahrain.

That’s looking less and less likely as the countdown to testing next month ticks on.

He’s not helped by the fact that his teammate’s future was confirmed last week and if a new deal for Sainz was close, it would have made sense to announce the pair together as Mercedes did last year with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Ferrari won’t want to be left behind in the driver market in case Sainz decides to walk away or is offered an alternative role elsewhere and that’s where Alex Albon comes in.

The Thai driver has previously spoken about his dream to drive for Ferrari one day.

With his Williams contract expiring at the end of the season, it would be the perfect opportunity for him to take the next step in his career.

Albon is now a ‘serious alternative’ for Ferrari to Sainz

The report from Motorsport.com suggests that Sainz would ideally like to sign a two-year extension with Ferrari.

That would take him to the end of 2026 where he would be able to get a better sense of which teams have nailed the new regulations coming in that year.

However, that agreement is still reportedly ‘quite far away’ which is creating additional speculation.

Motorsport.com believes that in the back there have been ‘whispers’ that Albon is a ‘serious alternative’ to Sainz for Ferrari heading into next year.

In the past, Albon has been praised by his potential new teammate Charles Leclerc.

As he was making his way in F1, Leclerc described Albon as a ‘really strong’ driver and the pair would complement each other well.

However, the pairing of Leclerc and Sainz has worked brilliantly for the past few seasons and it would be a shame if that were to end.

Ultimately, Formula 1 is a cut-throat sport and every driver and team needs to make the best decisions for themselves going forward.