Carlos Sainz, final months with Ferrari
For Carlos Sainz, the remaining races of 2024 represent a countdown, at the end of which he will have to pack his bags and leave Ferrari to join Williams. On September 1st, the Spaniard also had the opportunity to say goodbye to the Monza crowd, which he thrilled a year ago with a pole position, while in the last Grand Prix he earned appreciation for having resisted (as little as he could) the relentless advance of the McLarens chasing Charles Leclerc.
Carlos Sainz is recognized for his first-class professionalism, which has been evident not only at Monza but throughout his four years with Ferrari. And despite various disagreements with his Maranello teammate Charles Leclerc, which certainly did not help his relationship with the fans, “Smooth Operator” is highly appreciated within the team and by his team principal Frederic Vasseur, who has always admitted that the decision to replace him with Lewis Hamilton was not an easy one.
Fred Vasseur’s comments
“I have enormous respect for Carlos for what he has done for the team in recent years, but especially in the two years with me. I would definitely love to work with him again in the future, I am more than happy to have him on the team and will maintain a great relationship with him,” said Frederic Vasseur. “I know perfectly well what he did last year. Especially when we had problems, he was able to push the team with the Monza pole and the Singapore win. This probably also pushed Charles to react.” – the French manager pointed out.
“Even this season, he is doing an excellent job. I know perfectly well that the situation wasn’t ideal at the start of the season, but he is a great professional. We discussed it last winter and decided together to push until the last corner of the last lap of the last race, and it’s going very well.” – the Ferrari team principal concluded.
