But there is a conviction within the team that he could not be paired with Verstappen. Not only because of the fractious nature of their pairing as rookies in 2015-16, but also because Verstappen’s internal power as a triple world champion makes it his territory. The concern would be that signing Sainz might actually trigger the very Verstappen departure they are trying to cover for. So while Sainz would be the ideal option if Verstappen left, he’s a non-starter if Max does as he says he’s going to do and stays.
Meanwhile Toto Wolff is keeping channels open in the hope of bringing Max aboard at Mercedes. Kimi Antonelli remains favourite to replace Lewis Hamilton there next year but would be placed elsewhere (Williams?) if Verstappen should suddenly become available. Antonelli’s F2 season is not going as well as expected (though he did take his first victory at Silverstone) and so it would only be reasonable if there were concerns about whether he’d be ready as an 18-year-old for a ’25 Mercedes seat. Hence Carlos Sainz has never fallen off Mercedes’ list as a possibility.
From Sainz’s perspective, while the prospect of keeping Antonelli’s seat warm for a year in an uncompetitive Mercedes would not have been enticing, what about two years in a Mercedes team which has won the last two races? That would be more than he’d dared hope just a few weeks ago. That quickly changing landscape explains the delay far better than any indecision.
But maybe Carlos really has just been too preoccupied with the Euros. There was a note on the windscreen of his friend Lando Norris’ car in the Hungaroring car park. It read ‘Spain 2, England 1’.