Max Verstappen Smartly Stopped Sainz From Joining Red Bull

Max Verstappen reportedly vetoed Carlos Sainz’s Red Bull move, leveraging team control to avoid potential internal conflicts.

Juan Pablo Montoya also believes Max Verstappen “would have blocked” Carlos Sainz from joining Red Bull in 2025.

Sainz had been rumored for a seat at Red Bull this season after it was announced he lost his Ferrari seat to Lewis Hamilton. However, the Spaniard was ultimately overlooked by Red Bull, which chose to retain its faith in Sergio Perez.

Perez was eventually dropped at the end of the 2024 season, unable to reverse his decline in performance, with Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson promoted to the senior team for this season.

Horner recently explained why Sainz wasn’t seriously considered (read here). However, it has been largely suggested that Sainz was never a genuine candidate for Red Bull due to rumors of tension between his camp and Verstappen’s. The two were teammates at Toro Rosso in 2015, and Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko revealed their relationship was “quite toxic” at times.

Montoya, a seven-time Grand Prix winner, suspects Verstappen vetoed any move for Sainz.

“I’m sure Max would have blocked Carlos from joining Red Bull to avoid making intra-team competition too intense, even if I can’t confirm this personally,” Montoya stated.

“When they were teammates at Toro Rosso, their relationship was quite turbulent. I’m not sure Max would have wanted to face that again. Carlos made Max’s life quite difficult. So, when you have control over who is in the second car like Max does, you wouldn’t shoot yourself in the foot, would you?”

“It’s not that Max is afraid; it’s that he’s smart. Why make your life unnecessarily difficult and create a challenging environment?”

Montoya added that he finds it “disappointing that Carlos didn’t end up in a better F1 team, but Williams has the potential to stage a comeback similar to McLaren in the next few years.”

“I believe they can achieve incredible things in the future. In two or three years, Williams could find itself in McLaren’s current position, having successfully turned things around. The team has the financial backing it needs and has put everything in place to accomplish its mission.”