Carlos Sainz was actively looking for a team for 2025 for the majority of the first half of this season, and Red Bull — despite having a struggling Sergio Perez in its lineup — refused to pick him up. This surprised many, but journalist Erik Van Haren had an explanation for the same.

On the F1 Nation podcast, Van Haren brought up Sainz’s 2015 season, when he was Max Verstappen’s teammate. Their dynamics didn’t suit the best interest of Toro Rosso, which was Red Bull’s sister team. There were reports of the two drivers’ fathers engaging in behind-the-scenes arguments, pressing the management to favor their respective sons.

“I don’t think they will put Carlos Sainz next to Max Verstappen,” he said. “After the 2015 season when they were teammates at Toro Rosso at the time, I don’t think that’s a good thing.”

Van Haren also revealed that Red Bull never considered Sainz as a serious replacement for Perez. He labeled this affair as ‘political’ and insisted that such dynamics have played a major role in contract negotiations over the years.

Sainz, however, had other suitors to choose from; although, none of them were big teams. His last two options came down to Audi/Sauber and Williams, and he went ahead with the latter.

Meanwhile, Red Bull decided to not make any changes to its line-up mid-season despite Perez’s disastrous results in the last nine races.