F1 | Sainz turns the page: the surprising statements on Hamilton and Ferrari
Carlos Sainz Jr., fresh from his first podium finish with Williams, has revealed behind-the-scenes details about his departure from Ferrari as well as a personal anecdote involving Lewis Hamilton.
The announcement of Carlos Sainz Jr. leaving Ferrari, followed by Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at the Maranello team, was one of the biggest stories of last season. While the seven-time world champion is still struggling to find consistency and to claim his first podium with Ferrari, the Spanish driver—despite an up-and-down season—recently celebrated a strong third place in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. This result was highly significant both for Carlos Sainz personally and for Williams as a team, since their last podium had come back in the 2021 season.
Throughout his transition, Carlos Sainz Jr. has expressed strong faith in the Williams project, even though the team has long had its main focus set on the new regulations coming in 2026.
The farewell to Maranello
In a short phone interview with the BBC program “Radio 1’s All Day Breakfast with Greg James,” Carlos Sainz spoke again about his departure from Ferrari. He explained: “We had a very nice farewell and a really good conclusion to last year. Honestly, I felt like I was leaving behind many good friends and a lot of great people. I think it was simply a matter of circumstances: Lewis [Hamilton], being a seven-time world champion, wanted to finish his career at Ferrari and I had to make way.”
The Williams driver, who races with number #55, added: “That was the moment when I found the opportunity with Williams, and now that I’ve achieved my first podium with them, all the people at Ferrari congratulated me. They seemed genuinely, genuinely proud and happy for me.”
On Lewis Hamilton
When speaking about Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz Jr. also shared a personal memory: “For me… honestly, he’s my rival now, but if I wasn’t in F1, he would be one of my idols. In fact, I was about 10 years old when he arrived in Formula 1, and when he became world champion in 2007, I was 12. That was exactly the time when I started following Formula 1, when he was racing against Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa, and the others. He was one of my idols and one of the people I admired the most.” – the Spanish driver concluded.
Leave a Reply