Carlos Sainz admits he does not fit the "profile" of what Red Bull is looking for to be Max Verstappen’s teammate.
Although Sergio Perez insists the team will respect his 2025 contract, team boss Christian Horner and advisor Dr Helmut Marko are now regularly hinting that the Mexican’s days at Red Bull are numbered.
"With our performance today, we have absolutely no chance of second place, let alone first place," Marko, referring to the fight for the constructors’ championship, told ORF in Las Vegas.
"That was clear for a while, because if you compare Checo’s points with Max’s points, you know what the problem is," he added.
As for 34-year-old Perez’s 2025 contract, Horner hinted that the team still has flexibility. "We are aware of the situation of all of the drivers who are bound to us by contract," he said in Las Vegas.
"We could even drag it out until Melbourne, although it’s inevitable that at the end of the year we will sit down and examine all the information that is available to us."
Liam Lawson, or late contender Franco Colapinto, appear to be first in line in the event that Red Bull ousts Perez. Even when he was openly available on the market, the outfit decided against reuniting Verstappen with his former Toro Rosso teammate, Carlos Sainz.
The Spaniard, who is going to Williams instead for 2025, admits he is a victim of F1 politics.
"But everyone is a victim of politics in F1, not just me," he said on Thursday. "I don’t want to play the victim in this situation, far from it, because all drivers are victims of the many variables and many things that teams take into account when signing a driver. And it’s not just speed and talent.
"In that sense, I see it now much more philosophically, especially in the case of Red Bull. I think I’m simply not the driver that Red Bull is looking for at the moment, in the team situation that they have. I might not be the profile of the driver that they prefer to have."
The reporter asked Sainz if he means that what Red Bull really needs alongside Verstappen is a clear ’number 2’ driver.
"I didn’t say that," said Sainz.