Carlos Sainz is the great victim of the signing of the century in F1: that of Lewis Hamilton, 7-time world champion, for his current team’s biggest rival. Lewis will leave his Mercedes family to go to its greatest historical rival from the 2025 season. He will go to Ferrari. This is an unlikely move. It’s very difficult to happen. But it happened when Sainz was at Ferrari. Faced with the arrival of a 7-time king like Lewis, there is nothing to do. Carlos will hand over his seat in 2025 and end his time at Ferrari after 4 years, including having to compete in 2024, still wearing red.
“Following today’s news, Scuderia Ferrari and I will no longer be together from the end of 2024. We still have a long season and, as always, I will give everything for the team and for the tifosi around the world. We will announce news about my future in due course,” said the Spaniard.
The Madrid native arrived at Ferrari in 2021 as a bet from then-boss Mattia Binotto, and in his first year, with a car that wasn’t there to win, he overtook Charles Leclerc overall. A great noise started in the media related to who is number 1 and in Italy there was a lot of pressure for Charles Leclerc to have the captain’s armband. The image created by the Monegasque team for many years, fed by the transalpine press and bought by some excited ‘tifosi’, left Carlos in a delicate situation in front of the driver who for a long time was seen as ‘il predestinato’. ‘, a driver forged in Ferrari for and to win.
In 2022, Sainz struggled to adapt to a Ferrari that started as the best car while Leclerc started the season in style. However, Ferrari was diluted by a Red Bull that grew exponentially in the second half of the year. Sainz improved, he was able to change his driving style to suit the new car and in 2023 it was remarkable, with an overall performance better than the Monegasque. The debate around number 1 continued and both ended even with the classification.
Fréderic Vasseur, head of Ferrari, told MD that his priority was to renew Charles and Carlos. They did it in Monegasque, but not in Madrid, because they saw a unique option that they could not waste: signing a Hamilton that in these moments of sporting frustration due to the lack of a winning car is the best balm for the ‘tifosi’. ‘, another nail to hold while waiting for a car to fight for the title.
What will Sainz do?
Hamilton will leave one of the most coveted seats on the F1 grid, that of Mercedes, free. And therefore, nothing is thrown away. Carlos Sainz could try to open that door. But above all, Carlos sounded strong for the Audi project (now Sauber, under the name Stake F1). That choice will mean driving for the Stake team in 2025, far from the podiums, waiting for the arrival of Audi, which will need time to adapt to fight everything for a few years. It is a long-term plan with a brand whose goal is to win. But at the same time, he cannot be removed for other teams, because there are many drivers who end their contracts, such as two from Alpine or Williams, Pérez with Red Bull, or even find a place in Aston Martin.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
