Carlos Sainz’s bruised ego: “I still don’t understand the choices of some people”. Carlos Sainz waited for a long time for a call from a top team after his Ferrari exit.

F1 drivers certainly have a significant, imposing ego, and Carlos Sainz revealed that not securing a seat in a top team for 2025 hurt his ego.

The Spaniard will say goodbye to Ferrari at the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season and join Williams. It’s an undoubtedly interesting project, but at the moment, it doesn’t seem to offer guarantees of fighting for top positions.

Before signing with the Grove team, the Spanish driver waited for a long time for a call from a top team. There had been talk of interest from both Mercedes and Red Bull, but in the end, they both chose to go with Kimi Antonelli and confirm Sergio Perez, respectively.

Carlos Sainz’s confession
Carlos Sainz, speaking to Sky Sports F1, revealed how hard it was for him, and for his ego, to accept not being chosen by a top team.

“I’ve made peace with it, and I’m convinced that if I don’t go, it’s because life doesn’t want me to. There’s something else coming afterward that will turn out to be really good. It hurt,” admitted the Spaniard. “We all have an ego. I have a driver’s ego, and I couldn’t understand it at the time.” – he pointed out – “Personally, I still don’t understand some of the choices people made. At the same time, though, this creates a bigger challenge for me and makes me even more excited for Williams.”

The choice of Williams
The Ferrari driver had many options on the table, even if not the ones he desired. Almost all the teams showed interest in him, but in the end, he chose to join James Vowles’ project.

“Williams is the one that invested in me, that supported me from the beginning,” Carlos Sainz explained. “They were the ones who came to me a year ago, and that excites me. I told myself: ‘I want to give these guys what they’ve given to me. I want to return the trust they have in me.’ I can’t wait to go there and, together with them, build something good.” – the future Williams driver concluded.

In recent days, however, a shocking rumor has emerged about a possible renewed interest from Red Bull in Carlos Sainz. Although Christian Horner has already commented on these rumors, and considering the Franco Colapinto variable, the driver market may still hold some surprises.

Source: f1ingenerale