Paddock stalwart Martin Brundle has talked up the possibility of Carlos Sainz replacing Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari next year.
While team boss Mattia Binotto has consistently signalled the intention of keeping the German for 2021 and beyond, talk of his departure from the Scuderia continues to ramp up.
Unsurprisingly then, several drivers have emerged as possible options, such as Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, but Sainz is currently the name gaining the most momentum.
“Yeah, if he’s out of contract, I’ve always championed Carlos and to McLaren when they weren’t sure about taking him,” Brundle told the Daily Express.
“I think he’s got his dad’s kind of sporting winning mentality — a double World Rally Champion of course, his dad.
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“I think Sainz was very close [in performance] to [Max] Verstappen when they were at Toro Rosso before it got political.
“It got dad and lad against each other from both sides of the garage and they went with Verstappen, which I think you would do all day long.
“But I think Carlos was a really good match for him.”
Indeed, despite being on the grid since 2015, last year was a breakout season for Sainz after beating both Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly to finish sixth in the Drivers’ standings in his first season at McLaren as well as inheriting his first podium finish in F1 at Interlagos.
Also adding to his chances of the Ferrari seat potentially is speculation linking Vettel to a move to McLaren for 2021 due to his past experience working with team boss Andreas Seidl and as the British team embarks on a new era of Mercedes power.