Carlos Sainz admitted he does not believe a space will open up for him at Red Bull, given “they had me available for six months, and they didn’t pick me.”

Sainz was open in saying he held discussions with every team with an uncontracted cockpit for the 2025 season after it was announced he would be leaving Ferrari, and has opted to move to Williams on a long-term contract from next year.

Carlos Sainz: ‘I don’t think I fit into the Red Bull situation’

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner confirmed in November that Sainz, formerly in the Red Bull stable with Toro Rosso, “wouldn’t form a part of our plans” for next season, amid doubts over the future of Sergio Perez.

PlanetF1.com understands that, should Red Bull decide to part ways with Perez at the end of the year, one of Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda would be under consideration to step up to the ‘senior’ Red Bull squad instead.

Sainz took his time to come to a decision over his next move, previously having admitted it “hurt” to not land an immediately front-running seat at a team like Red Bull or Mercedes next year, for when he comes to leave Ferrari.

But while he is committed to bringing his new team forward, he explained that not moving to Red Bull would have been because “I simply don’t fit into the type of driver they need right now.”

“I think, if anything, a lot of people in the paddock will think I took too long, especially a lot of my fellow drivers thought I was taking too long to decide,” Sainz said with a laugh on the Beyond the Grid podcast.

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“No, I don’t think I fit into the Red Bull situation. They had me available for six months, and they didn’t pick me.”

Put to Sainz that Perez signed his contract extension earlier in the year when he was still performing well, Sainz said he was still on the market and the team still had the opportunity to pick him up for 2025 and beyond, but they chose not to.

Had he decided to wait too long, that could have left him without a drive altogether, and the 30-year-old opted to pick Williams through their will in trying to bring him to the team.

“No, it was a lot later, it was until the summer break,” Sainz replied when it was put to him about how Perez had performed in the early part of the season, “and Red Bull had me available for six months, and they didn’t pick me, and I think it’s because I simply don’t fit into the type of driver that they need right now in Red Bull – and I’m completely fine with that.

“If anything, they’re making me a favour. I don’t see myself as like a lost opportunity to not wait to December. That’s not how the Formula 1 market works.

“If I would have done that, I might have even been without a Formula 1 contract for ’25 if I keep Alpine, Williams or Audi waiting until this late.

“I also have obviously an ego, and I’m going to go with the people that really want me and James [Vowles, Williams team principal], I cannot explain to you how much I felt wanted and how much I felt pushed to join them, and they did an incredible job also in convincing me, because it is a project that, as I said before, I just look forward to it.”

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