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Norris critical of Perez: 'Sainz deserves that Red Bull seat.'
Another piece of the F1 driver market puzzle was fitted on July 29 as Carlos Sainz finally made a decision about his future. After many rumours surrounded the Spaniard and Williams, along with many reports saying both Sainz and team principal James Vowles were involved in positive conversations, pen was put to paper, and Sainz signed a 'multi-year' contract with the British team. But Lando Norris believes his former McLaren teammate should have signed for another team on the grid.
After Lewis Hamilton made the surprise and shocking move to Ferrari for the 2025 season to partner Charles Leclerc, Sainz has been searching for a new seat in F1. Rumours suggested that the Audi F1 project was the next step for the Spaniard, but those talks did not progress. Hamilton's move also opened up a seat at Mercedes, but the three-time Grand Prix winner was not involved in any concrete conversations to join the German team.
The Red Bull seat was also an option that could have become available for Sainz in 2025. Despite extending his contract at the Austrian team for another year, it's been a very poor season for Sergio Perez, and there was the belief that his seat may be up for grabs if his results did not improve, with Sainz supposedly the main beneficiary if that did become available. However, the Spaniard has made his decision, and he will be a Williams driver for next season
Norris believes Sainz "deserves" the Red Bull seat
However, speaking to Sky Sports at the McLaren factory, Norris was asked whether either Mercedes or Red Bull should have offered Sainz a contract for the 2025 season: "I don't know what their [Mercedes and Red Bull] plans are. Honestly, the easy one is just to say Red Bull. He should have gone there in my eyes. Obviously, I'm biased, I know Carlos more than I know Checo and that kind of thing, but Carlos deserves a lot, he's one of the best drivers in Formula One, and he's proven that countless times."
But despite thinking that Sainz might not be heading to the right team for next season, the current number two in the World Championship is happy to see his friend on the grid, saying, "I'm a good friend of his, so I'm happy for him that he's still in Formula One. I'm still happy that he got a drive and that he can try and bring Williams back up, and him partnering Alex [Albon] I think would be good for Formula One at the same time. That's a good thing, but I'm sure a lot of people would have loved to say that he should have gone to Red Bull potentially, but that's not my decision to make."
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