“Red Bull must look into Carlos Sainz’s exit clause with Williams”. Red Bull shouldn’t let Carlos Sainz slip away and should explore his exit clause with Williams.

After being dropped by Ferrari, Carlos Sainz searched for a long time for a new home. With the top teams shutting their doors on him, the Spaniard ultimately chose Williams. But is it a definitive choice? According to former F1 driver Martin Donnelly, Red Bull has an obligation to reconsider and evaluate Carlos Sainz for the 2025 Formula 1 season.

According to the Belfast native, the Austrian team should target the Spaniard to replace Sergio Perez as early as next year. After all, the Mexican’s future with the team has been called into question in recent months due to a series of disappointing performances.

Driver #11 has been missing from the podium since the last Chinese GP and has struggled to remain competitive in the championship, especially compared to his teammate Max Verstappen. His underwhelming performances have contributed to Red Bull slipping to third place in the constructors’ championship.

Because of this, several drivers have been linked to taking over the 34-year-old’s seat for next season, despite Sergio Perez theoretically renewing his contract with Red Bull. The most likely candidates appear to be Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson, but Martin Donnelly has a different opinion.

“Who do I see at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen in 2025? Carlos Sainz,” he told *RacingNews365*. “Sainz has experience. He’s currently winning races with a car that might be good in qualifying but has disappeared in other races. At COTA, they [Red Bull] were nowhere.”

Martin Donnelly suggested that Carlos Sainz might have a clause in his contract, something Helmut Marko also hinted at but was promptly denied by Williams team principal James Vowles.

“He has a clause in his contract that if one of the big teams like Red Bull or Mercedes calls him, he could terminate his contract with Williams and take the seat,” Martin Donnelly said – “If I’m looking for a driver and I want my car to be at the right stage of development for the future, I would take Carlos Sainz. For Red Bull, it’s important to secure consistent points in the constructors’ standings because there are two good drivers at McLaren who are consistently scoring points, and also at Ferrari.”

“That’s why Red Bull is third in the constructors’ standings. Teams compete for the constructors’ championship because that’s where they make the big money, not necessarily for the drivers’ championship.” – Martin Donnelly concluded.