Since the moment Lewis Hamilton decided to quit Mercedes for a fresh start at Ferrari, the Formula 1 driver market has been in overdrive.
And that was before the 2024 campaign even began. Silly season usually kicks into higher gears around the mid-season break, but this term it has been non-stop with a few key decisions already having been made.
Before Hamilton dropped his Ferrari bombshell, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc confirmed extensions with McLaren and the Scuderia respectively. Alex Albon has also committed his future to Williams, despite being linked with seats at Mercedes and Red Bull.
Nico Hulkenberg has signed onto the Audi project. And Carlos Sainz is the other top target for the Germans, who want to pick up the Spaniard after Ferrari decided it was worth letting him go to secure the signature of seven-time F1 champion Hamilton.
But Sainz has been stalling on that offer. As lucrative as it is believed to be, the chances of the new Audi works team being competitive right off the bat are slim and the 29-year-old has grown used to fighting towards the front of the grid.
Mercedes are on the lookout for a new driver to replace Hamilton., and Red Bull have been considering all their options with Sergio Perez out of contract at the end of this year. Sainz has been linked with both seats.
But those doors, however open to the Spaniard they were before, are closing. Toto Wolff has been trying his best to tempt Max Verstappen to walk away from Red Bull but, if he fails to do that, it seems his focus is fully on teenage starlet Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
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And though Red Bull have been looking around, they look increasingly likely to hand Perez a contract extension. Faced with the reality that neither of the two top seats still available are destined for him, Sainz has a big decision to make in the coming weeks.
An Audi offer has been on the table for some time now but, because of the availability of those other seats, he has been stalling. But the Germans won't wait around forever and it is believed he has just another two weeks to accept the deal, before they move on to other targets.
He likely has other options - he is believed to be on Williams' shortlist, while his entourage was spotted visiting the Alpine motorhome in the Imola paddock this weekend. As do Audi, who are likely to turn their attention to Esteban Ocon if they fail to secure the Spaniard's signature.