Welcome silly season
The arrival of summer in Formula 1 coincides with the ignition of the silly season and the driver market, especially for the ‘second tier’ teams, is always in turmoil. One of the latest rumors circulating in the paddock concerned Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard would not be so convinced to stay at Williams and would be considering joining Audi for 2027, where he would find the team principal who wanted him at Ferrari instead of Sebastian Vettel – Mattia Binotto – and where there is also a strong family connection, since his father was an Audi driver and won the 2024 Dakar with the Four Rings.
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Hulkenberg does not step aside
However, if Sainz were to actually move to the Hinwil team, this could mean that one of the grid veterans, Nico Hulkenberg, would end up on foot. It seems difficult to think that Audi would want to part with the young talent Gabriel Bortoleto, who has already scored six points this year against the zero of the Emmerich driver. Hulkenberg, who was Sainz’s teammate in 2018 at Renault, winning the direct comparison quite clearly, however, immediately showed his claws.
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Answering some journalists’ questions during the Spa media day regarding the rumors of a possible move of Sainz to Audi, the 38-year-old German’s response was caustic: “I think the reserve driver spot is free, but I doubt he is interested”, Hulk declared. What is called a warm welcome.
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