Christian Horner raises hopes for Red Bull’s reunion with Australian Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz, with the Spaniard recovering from surgery at just the third race of the Formula 1 season An outstanding recovery that ended Max Verstappen’s nine-race winning streak.
Sainz will leave Ferrari at the end of the season thanks to the arrival of Lewis Hamilton, ensuring he is one of the most popular drivers in 2025 in Melbourne. Horner said Sainz has been Red Bull’s “nemesis” of late, after the 29-year-old driver retired early from the race at Verstappen due to brake problems after Albert Parker.
When asked if Red Bull would bring back Sainz, Horner replied: “Based on this performance, you can’t rule anything out.”
Sainz was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a Grand Prix last year, taking victory in Singapore in September. On Sunday, he picked up another title at the Builders Championship. “Today, unemployed drivers won quickly,” Horner said.
The Spaniard was part of Red Bull’s youth program and drove for Toro Rosso before joining Renault in 2017. Ferrari signed Sainz for 2021 to replace Sebastian Vettel. Red Bull director Helmut Marko said last month the team would make a decision later in the season regarding their Mexican driver Sergio Perez, who finished fifth on Sunday, and that timetable Will be inconsistent with the timing of the red-hot Sainz. But there is no leading candidate to partner Verstappen next year.
Horner said Perez had “started the season well” and Yuki Tsunoda, chief driver of affiliate team RB, was a “quick” driver. However, the Red Bull boss said “sometimes you have to look outside the pool” and that “the market is quite fluid for certain drivers”.
Ferrari opted to pair Hamilton with Charles Leclerc next year, forcing Sainz to find another driver. “I don’t feel like I’m underestimated by people who understand the sport,” Sainz said. “Are there other people out there who maybe don’t know much about the sport? If they want to underestimate me, that’s okay with me.”
Leclerc, who finished second behind Sainz, dismissed the idea that the Spaniard was underrated, saying he was “one of the most highly rated drivers” in Formula 1. “I’m not too worried about his future because I’m sure many, many team principals – he didn’t say for sure – they are talking to him,” Leclerc said.
Sainz missed the final round in Saudi Arabia after having his appendix removed two weeks ago. He attributes his recovery to a rigorous rehabilitation program – including a hyperbaric chamber and an “electromagnetic” machine – that sped up his recovery in the days leading up to the game. “Suddenly, when I arrived in Australia, I felt better,” he said. “Every 24 hours I make more progress than I did in the previous seven days.”
Australian Oscar Piastri finished fourth behind team-mate Lando Norris after McLaren was instructed to let the British driver pass midway through the race.
Piastri said he was disappointed at not being able to break the 40-year record of no local driver on the podium, but he understood the team’s reasons for intervening. “Of course, at home I would have loved to have stayed in third place, but for me it’s completely fair,” said Piastri.
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His compatriot Daniel Ricciardo continued his struggles at RB by finishing 12th after starting 18th. “I know I’m in this little process or journey right now and I just have to focus on myself,” Ricciardo said. “If I let any noise in, it distracts me from the road I’m on.”
Verstappen’s accident on lap three was Red Bull’s first mechanical retirement in two years, due to a problem with the right rear brake caliper.
Horner has been the center of controversy in recent weeks after a team employee made a complaint against him. He was acquitted, but the employee has appealed. On Sunday, he said he was “absolutely” happy with his role at Red Bull.
