3 drivers who could replace Carlos Sainz as Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate in 2025 season

As the 2024 F1 season approaches, there is lot of discussion surrounding Carlos Sainz's future. After Ferrari announced Charles Leclerc's contract extension, all eyes turned to the Spaniard. Sainz's current contract with the Prancing Horse ends in 2024, and there is no official news regarding an extension.

The driver market will be extremely hot after 2024, with many driver contracts terminating. Hence, there is a chance Ferrari could be looking for a new racer to replace Carlos Sainz.

Here are three drivers Ferrari could be looking at as a replacement for Carlos Sainz.

Potential replacements for Carlos Sainz at Ferrari

#1 Alex Albon

Alex Albon is the top candidate who could replace Carlos Sainz, if the latter fails to strike a new deal with Ferrari. The Thai driver is currently racing for Williams and has shown tremendous consistency and pace in the 2023 F1 season. Despite driving a relatively slower car, Albon was able to score quite a lot of points and end up ahead of every backmarker driver on the grid. He scored 27 points and secured 13th place last season.

The Williams paddock had a lot of good things to say about the youngster, praising his ability to push a car to its absolute limits. Since most of the other seats in top teams are locked, one of the very few places left for Albon is Ferrari, alongside Charles Leclerc. Leclerc and Albon have a great relationship with one another as well, and the move will be a massive jump for the Thai driver.

Albon's current contract with Williams ends after the 2024 F1 season.

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#2 Pierre Gasly

Although Pierre Gasly recently moved to Alpine, there is a small chance that the Frenchman could be someone Ferrari sees as a Carlos Sainz replacement. In his first year in Alpine, Gasly managed to outscore his teammate, Esteban Ocon, who has been with the team for a long time. Furthermore, Gasly was excellent in AlphaTauri (now known as Visa Cash App RB), where he won his very first race at the 2020 F1 Italian GP.

Alpine is currently undergoing several internal conflicts, with its CEO and team principal getting replaced in the middle of 2023. If the team continues to experience turmoil and underperform in 2024, Gasly could start looking elsewhere. As of now, his current contract with the French team ends in 2024, leaving him open for 2025.

Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc are great friends and have been seen hanging out with each other off the track. Hence, their synergy could be great for the Prancing Horse.

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#3 Zhou Guanyu

Since most young F1 drivers are locked with their respective teams, Zhou Guanyu could also be one of the drivers who could replace Carlos Sainz in Ferrari. The Chinese was in Ferrari's junior program from 2014 to 2018.

Furthermore, Sauber and Haas have always been the testing grounds for Ferrari, where younger F1 drivers compete for a few years before getting promoted to the Italian team. Charles Leclerc is a prime example, as he raced in Sauber for a year before getting promoted to Ferrari.

Zhou Guanyu has not been an exceptional driver in his first two years in F1, scoring six points in both the 2022 and 2023 F1 seasons. However, there is a small chance that Ferrari could give him a golden chance to prove himself.