Carlos Sainz doesn’t “want a project” as he's forced into Williams or Sauber F1 move

Ex-F1 driver Karun Chandhok believes Carlos Sainz doesn’t want to join a “project” as he continues to weigh up Williams or Sauber for next year.

Sainz is the best driver available still on the F1 driver market for 2025.

The Spaniard appears to have two clear options - Williams or Sauber (Audi).

Williams would be the better short-term option for Sainz, potentially giving him flexibility in terms of a contract, while by joining Sauber, he’d have the backing of a manufacturer in Audi.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Sainz revealed that he’s keen to make a decision soon on his future.

Assessing Sainz’s options, Chandhok feels the current Ferrari driver is being forced into a project team after missing out on Red Bull and Mercedes.

“I don’t think he wants a project. He wants to go to Mercedes or Red Bull. I think he’s going to get a project,” Chandhok said.

Former IndyCar star Danica Patrick added: “It’s going to be [a project] no matter what.

“He’s going to be with a team that needs to rise to the occasion. He has the quality of driving to win races but I am not sure all of his options are going to be able to do that.”

Chandhok thinks that the ongoing speculation around his future is ‘weighing’ on Sainz mentally.

“He might be a multimillionaire F1 driver but for anybody in any job having instability in your career is upsetting,” Chandhok added.

“It weighs on you mentally. It doesn’t matter if you’re a doctor, lawyer or work in a shop. I feel like this is something he wants to put to bed just to say ‘OK, that’s done now. I know where my future lies. I know where I am  going to be and get back to my day job.’”

Patrick agreed the uncertainty is a “heavy burden”.

“Oh gosh. You’d like to see he could go to Mercedes but you know, they have a plan to bring a young driver along probably,” she explained. “That maybe will land him at Williams. You can see it weighing on him when he was talking about, he was just  trying to get on with work.

“It’s a heavy burden to know where you’re going. It’s a question he will get every weekend. It’s probably something he’d like to get off of his shoulders. Maybe Williams?”