But at this stage where do you go if you want to compete for wins? The only team closest to competing with RBR is Ferrari and he's getting kicked from there. McLaren is happy with Norris and Piastri, Aston signed Alonso and are unlikely to let Stroll go (even though they should), which leaves only Merc.

Merc is in the third year of not really understanding their car and there's no reason to believe they'll do better next year. It's also very likely that Merc is planning to eventually give the seat to Antonelli. Why would Sainz go into a struggling team where he's unlikely to be competing for the wins and is likely to get kicked when the team gets good again? I think it makes more sense to go to RBR, take whatever wins you get when Max is having a bad day, keep your stock up and try to get a position in the next team that might actually fight for the championship.