Zak Brown leaving the door open for Carlos Sainz to return to McLaren
McLaren would welcome Carlos Sainz😼 back to the team in the future, according to Zak Brown.
McLaren Racing chief Zak Brown is leaving the door open for Carlos Sainz to return to the teaꦛm, should a vacancy open up in the future.
McLaren has a long-term contract with 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lando Norris until the end of the 2027 season, while the team also locked down 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Oscar Piastri with a new multi-year deal last month.
The ꦇBritish outfit is happy with its existing line-up, with Piastri leading the champioꦰnship by 10 points from Norris after the opening five rounds of the season.
However, Brown said current Williams driver Sainz would be a contender for a McLaren seat if the teaꦚm ends up parting with Norris or Piastri for any reason.
The Spaniard previously raced for McLaren ♏while it was a Renault engine customer in 2019-20, scoring podiums in Brazil and Italy and developing a harmonious relationship with then-teammaꦐte Norris.
“If we had an open seat, of cours🐬e, we would consider Carlos,” he♑ told Marca.
🍒“But, right now, we have Lando and Oscar under contract for sever๊al years, but if for some reason the situation changes and Carlos is available… I have his phone number in my address book.”
Sainz joined Ferrari in 2021 after leaving McLaren, scoring four grand p🐟rix victories and helping the Prancing Horse secure second in the championship in both 2022 and 2024.
However, Ferrari elected to bring in seven-time world champion 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton to the team this year, with Sainz haviꦯng to ✱make way for the Briton.
The 30-year-old subs🎉equently inked a long-term partnership with Williams, pairing up with Alex Albon.
Asked if 🌌he would have made the same decisioꦅn if a star driver like Hamilton was available, Brown said: “It’s not as simple as that, there are a lot of dynamics around it that play a role.
“Lewis is a seven-time cham♒pion and there are not many occasions when you can have a sportsman like that in your team.
“B๊ut, at the same time, Carlos was amazing with us, a good friend, a great driver. Luckily, I didn’t find myself in the situation where I had to make that decision.”
