Carlos Sainz has hinted there is a possibility his future in Formula 1 could be confirmed before this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.
The Spaniard is searching for a new home after being ousted by Ferrari in favour of Lewis Hamilton for the 2025 campaign.
For several weeks, Williams and Stake/Audi have been the favourites to secure his signature.
However, RacingNews365 understands that Alpine is also keen to bring the three-time grand prix winner to Enstone.
On the build-up to the race weekend in Spain, Sainz asserted that he did “not want to wait any longer” to confirm his future due to “taking space out of my head for quite a few weeks”.
With multiple teams pursuing his services, Sainz's position in the driver market has been labelled as a cork in the bottle.
But when asked after the Spanish Grand Prix if his future destination will be made public before Austria, Sainz told media including RacingNews365: “It could be, not for sure. But it could be.”
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Sainz's comment came after he endured a difficult home race, crossing the line in sixth place - his lowest classified result of the season.
The 29-year-old stated that Ferrari is lacking through combined high-speed corners, drawing comparisons to the track characteristics in China and Japan.
Amid Ferrari's recent struggles, Sainz is expecting the squad to have a stronger run of form this weekend from the Red Bull Ring.
“We just need to make sure when we go to tracks like Spain and Zandvoort with long combined corners that we just improve the package,” he said.
“There will be the Monacos and maybe the Austrias where we expect to be more competitive.
“So it's just how it goes for us right now.”
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