Carlos Sainz addresses the enticing prospect of replacing Max Verstappen at Red Bull should the 4x F1 champion leave

Carlos Sainz has made it clear that he's not interested in a future at Red Bull if Max Verstappen decides to step away from the team. Heading into the F1 British GP, rumors have been making rounds that the Dutch driver has given his consent to Mercedes for a possible future with the team.

At the same time, this has put the silly season into overdrive, as now there appears to be a lack of clarity on who fits where. George Russell was supposed to be a Mercedes driver for 2026, as he was expecting a contract renewal at the end of the year. With Toto Wolff continuing to have discussions with Max Verstappen, it has left the Brit in an uncomfortable position where there is no clarity on where he ends up.

At the same time, it appears that if Max Verstappen leaves, Red Bull might find it hard to put a replacement in place as the team focuses on building a project in 2026. One of the drivers who has been associated with the team in the past is Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard was in consideration as a possible replacement for Sergio Perez last season.

It didn't materialize, however, but with a possible Max Verstappen departure, there could be a seat vacant at Red Bull. The Spaniard is, however, in no mood to make a move. He told select media, including Sportskeeda:

"Well, I think first of all, the things you're commenting on at the moment, it looks like it's rumours. I don't know how much of the truth is going on, on that end of things, but Williams knows that it has my commitment for the next two years and beyond, if the situation allows. I believe the trajectory we're on, and yeah, I am very confident with the choice I made."

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Carlos Sainz calls for the team to start putting things together as the midfield starts catching up

The last few races have seen the midfield teams start scoring some big points as compared to Williams. Carlos Sainz had a disaster in Austria, and so did Alex Albon with reliability issues. This has led to the midfield group, including Aston Martin, Racing Bulls, Haas and Sauber, catching up big time.

Carlos Sainz felt that the car was still quite quick, but all that was needed was the team executing the weekends better. He said (via the aforementioned source):

"Very hectic for sure, for the whole factory, for us as drivers and all the engineers involved, we're trying our best to get on top of all these issues and situations. I think one thing that is keeping us calm and encouraged is that the speed in the car is there. I'm very confident we could have won the midfield battle in Austria, even almost starting from the back with the pace we had."

He added:

"And yeah, every race, we're actually very quick, and we have a very competitive car, but we just need to, obviously, start putting things together and [stop] making those mistakes as a team, which I think it will come."

Carlos Sainz would be hoping for a better run in Silverstone. This is the place where he picked up his first win and would be hoping to have some kind of form that brings back that kind of result.