Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has addressed why 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Carlos Sainz was overlooked as a candidate to partner 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen.

On Wednesday it was confirmed that Red Bull and168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史: Sergio Perez had agreed to end their contract two years early following a dreadful 2024 season for the M🤡exican.

Red Bull are yet to announce Perez’s replacement but 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Liam Lawson is expected to be p🍌romoted from the sister Racing Bulls team.

Sainz was available as a free agent earlier this year after 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton’s shock switch from Meไrcedes to Ferrari was confirmed back in February, but Red Bull cꩵhose not to sign the Spaniard, who has since joined Williams.

Four-time grand prix winner Sainz made his F1 debut alongside Verstappen at Red Bull’s sister team in 2015 bu🥂t never got the opportunity to race for the senior squad and eventually left the brand.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after Perez’s de✅parture from Red Bull was finally made official, Horner indicated the team’s reasoning for not considering Sainz.

“I think Carlos is a great driver and we’ve see🐽n that obviously this year at some times,” Horner expl♎ained. “You’ve got to look at all the various criteria and dynamics.

“At the point that we extended Checo’s contract you have to remember that he was second in the world championship and finishing on the podium in tꦚhe first four out of five races.

“At the time we signed [the deal] he’d had🐈 four podiums in five races so it was a logical ext🌞ension just to remove speculation of which there was already too much around the team.”

Verstappen and Sainz were believed to have endured a fract♎ious relationship as teammates at Toro Rosso.

Earlier this year, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko cl🐼aimed “the atmosphere between t꧅he two was quite toxic”.

“Sainz is, without a doubt, a great driver,” Marko told Marca. “He was almost on par with Max in Toro Rosso. The bad thing for him is that he was unluckꦦy to✅ have Verstappen as a team mate

“The atmosphere between the two at Toro Rosso was quite toxic. With the configuration we had then, I didn’t see a way to keep him with us, so 🃏Carlos went through Renault, McLaren and then he ended up at Ferrari.”

Sainz the ‘obvious, obvious candidate’

Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok told the broadcaster’s podcast that he “doesn’t understand” why Red Bull𝓡 di🦩dn’t sign Sainz.

“This thing of, Max doesn’t want him or the father’s don’t get along - come on, it’s been a decade! They are at completely different stages of their lives, Max is now a four-time woꦑrld champion,” he continued.

“And really that deference t🦩o whether the dads don’t get on.. At the end of the day they’ve lost the constructors’ world championship because the second car wasn’t scori🎐ng as well as the second Ferrari or the second McLaren on any given weekend.

“You have to have the best two drivers and to me Carlos w𝐆as the obvious, obvious candidate.”