Toto Wolff reopens door to Carlos Sainz: “If he waits for us, there could be an opportunity”. Carlos Sainz back in contention for an F1 seat at Mercedes.

Toto Wolff has been weighing the options for months
When Lewis Hamilton officially announced on February 1st that he would leave Mercedes in 2025 to join Ferrari, Toto Wolff did not hide his surprise at the decision of his most iconic driver and suggested that he would take all the time necessary to find his replacement. As weeks passed, some candidates settled elsewhere (see Fernando Alonso), while others (like Carlos Sainz) seemed on the verge of doing so, making it seem that the shortlist had been reduced to Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a very young talent from the Mercedes Academy, and – surprisingly – Max Verstappen, whom Wolff has been courting persistently, reaffirmed in almost every interview.

Carlos Sainz back in contention
In an interview with Spain’s Mundo Deportivo, Toto Wolff made several interesting statements regarding the future of the second Mercedes seat: “If I could choose between Verstappen and Leclerc? Leclerc is a Ferrari driver until 2028. While Verstappen… it’s unclear. We keep all options open. Max? We are not waiting for a driver, we never have. The goal is to have a faster car, that’s what we can control. I think it’s very likely that Max might stay with Red Bull, but that doesn’t mean things can’t change.”

After stating in recent weeks that discussions with Carlos Sainz had ended because the Spanish driver would have to wait until autumn, Toto Wolff – surprisingly – reopened the door to the Ferrari driver: “With Carlos, you play it safe, especially if we have a competitive car, he could help us for the constructors’ championship. There are many arguments in his favor. I want to take all the time necessary to decide and keep all options open as long as possible. When we talked, I told him I wasn’t sure he could wait for us because I don’t want to make a rushed decision. But Sainz is still a possibility, obviously he has to decide what to do with the other teams.”

Since the interview was given to the Spanish press, the question about Fernando Alonso was inevitable: “Of course we considered him,” Toto Wolff said, adding: “But at that moment Fernando had no interest in driving for Mercedes. Plus, he had a long-term contract with Aston Martin on the table. That’s the perception I had.” – the Mercedes team principal concluded.