The F1 move that Martin Brundle thinks is a ‘no-brainer’ for Carlos Sainz

Martin Brundle is convinced that a switch to Red Bull for F1 2025 would be a “no-brainer” for Carlos Sainz.

Lewis Hamilton’s shock decision to quit Mercedes and join Charles Leclerc at Ferrari next season has left Sainz without a drive for next year.

The Spaniard has enjoyed a strong start to the season, finishing inside the top three in each of the three races he has contested, including his brilliant victory at the Australian Grand Prix on his return from an appendectomy.

Sainz is yet to sort his future beyond the end of the season but has been linked with Red Bull, Mercedes, Aston Martin and Sauber.

Brundle reckons Sergio Perez - who is out of contract at the end of the year - is the “cork in the bottle” who will have the biggest influence on the driver market.

“It’s really tough for him,” Brundle said on the Sky Sports F1 podcast.

“In pre-season I said I thought he was going to fly this year because the pressure is off, he can drive for himself a little bit more, the team have biffed him off for Lewis Hamilton.

“His natural talents are always going to flow with nothing to lose and everything to gain, all of the right mentality to just go and fly and really just take it to everybody and show everybody how wrong they are.

“That’s exactly what he’s done and he’s left Charles Leclerc floundering to an extent in some respects, and I would never underestimate Charles Leclerc, but I’d never underestimate Carlos Sainz either.

“I can understand what Ferrari have done, two biggest brands in F1 probably are Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton right now, and they’re joining up and it’s a great story.

“I think Mercedes, if Antonelli is ready, they’ll try and put Antonelli in Lewis Hamilton’s seat…

“So will Perez kick the Red Bull seat? That’s the key, that’s the cork in the bottle.

“Because putting Sainz in the Red Bull would be a no-brainer for me – or an Aston Martin or a Mercedes-Benz for that matter. He’s now got the experience, got speed, he still got youth on his side to an extent.”

And Brundle has advised Sainz to keep his options open for as long as he can.

“The problem Team Sainz have is that Sauber, let’s call them Audi going forward, are putting him under pressure to do a long-term deal, which means he will then be at Sauber next year treading water, and then hanging all of his chances on how quickly Audi can get their team and their power unit together and become competitive. And that’s no small task,” he said.

“So he could actually go off and have a really serious three, even four seasons with another team and still join Audi when they’re ripe and ready to go. But they’re putting him under pressure to sign and I don’t see the other three teams ready to give into that pressure and sign Sainz.

“My advice to Carlos and his dad would be that things happen very quickly in this business. Two weeks is a very long time in F1 and just keep your options open.”