Will Buxton issues crucial clarification after sparking Carlos Sainz to Mercedes rumours

F1 TV presenter Will Buxton has taken to social media to set the record straight on his comments surrounding Carlos Sainz and Mercedes.

The latest F1 ‘silly season’ has the potential to be one of the wildest yet as the dominoes wait to fall following Lewis Hamilton’s pre-season announcement that he will join Ferrari for 2025.

Will Buxton clarifies Carlos Sainz remarks amid Mercedes rumours

Hamilton will take Sainz’s place at Ferrari, though Sainz has established himself as a standout driver on the market with his start to F1 2024, producing a dominant Australian Grand Prix win and two further P3 finishes having missed the Saudi Arabian GP after appendix surgery.

That has seen Sainz emerge as a contender to join Mercedes in what would represent a straight swap with Hamilton, though Buxton has moved to clear up a misunderstanding after his coverage of the situation left some believing he had suggested Sainz was on the verge of joining Mercedes.

In a social media post, Buxton wrote: “To clear up any confusion, Toto said earlier in the week that ‘some of the really good guys are about to sign for some of the other teams.’

“In the post-race show I said I believed that was likely to be Carlos Sainz. I did not say Toto was about to sign Carlos for Mercedes.”

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And Buxton does not believe Sainz is the driver whom Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff ideally wants as Hamilton’s replacement.

Instead, he is “absolutely convinced” that Andrea Kimi Antonelli is Wolff’s priority target.

Mercedes junior Antonelli skipped Formula 3 to line-up in Formula 2 this year, and with the lessons learned from a difficult introduction is now starting to find his feet in the category, claiming his best result yet of P4 last time out in the Australia feature race.

“As some of you will probably be aware, I remain absolutely convinced that Toto wishes to bring Antonelli into the Mercedes team,” Buxton continued.

“Toto was referring to top drivers joining other teams, and as things stand I believe Carlos is the best placed to be the one to do so in the short term.”

As well as Mercedes, Sainz has also been linked with the likes of Red Bull, Aston Martin, Williams and Sauber, which will morph into Audi from 2026.

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