Martin Brundle believes Carlos Sainz's links to Audi are creating a 'problem' for the Ferrari driver in trying to decide what he does next year.
The Spaniard will lose his seat at Ferrari at the end of the season with Lewis Hamilton joining from Mercedes.
It means Sainz is now arguably the most sought after driver available currently on the market with the F1 grid set to look drastically different next year.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has made no secret of his desire to steal Max Verstappen from Red Bull, but it's now been suggested talks have been ongoing between the Silver Arrows and Sainz.
Carlos Sainz is being linked with replacing Lewis Hamilton
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Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport have even gone as strong to claim an agreement is close between the two parties.
Sky Sports pundit Brundle feels Mercedes are more likely to lean towards youngster Andrea Kimi Antonelli if he continues to impress in the F2 Championship.
Meanwhile, Sainz continues to be linked with Audi from 2026 and Brundle feels that is complicating things for the Spaniard's next move.
“I think Mercedes if Antonelli is ready, they’ll try to put Antonelli in Lewis Hamilton’s seat - Kimi Antonelli, the currently 17-year-old until August. I agree [that] Fernando Alonso stays at Aston Martin," Brundle said on the Sky Sports F1 podcast.
“Lawrence Stroll is hardly going to biff his son out of there unless he doesn’t want to do it any more, but he looks like he does.
“Will Perez keep the Red Bull seat? That’s the key, that’s the cork in the bottle.
“Because putting Sainz in the Red Bull would be a no-brainer for me, or an Aston Martin or a Mercedes-Benz for that matter.
“He’s now got the experience, he’s got the speed, he’s still got youth on his side to an extent.
Toto Wolff is still deciding on Lewis Hamilton's replacement
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“So the problem team Sainz have is that Sauber, let’s call them Audi going forward, are putting him under pressure to do a long-term deal, which means he will then be at Sauber next year.
“[He’ll be] treading water and then hanging all of his chances on how quickly Audi can get their team and their power unit together and become competitive, and that’s no small task.
“So he could actually go off and have a really serious three or even four seasons with another team and still join Audi when they’re ripe and ready to go.
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli is also seen as an option
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“But they’re putting him under pressure to sign and I don’t see the other three teams ready to give in to that pressure and sign Sainz. So they’ve got a bit of a stand-off.
“I think my advice to Carlos and his Dad would be just… things happen very quickly in this business.
“Two weeks is a very long time in Formula One… just keep your options open.”
