Fred Vasseur praises Carlos Sainz amid Hamilton replacement: “A more than professional reaction”. Frederic Vasseur has praised his driver Carlos Sainz amid news of his replacement in 2025.

Scuderia Ferrari’s team principal, Frederic Vasseur, has praised his driver Carlos Sainz for his performance in the opening race of the 2024 Formula One season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, finishing on the podium behind the two Red Bulls. The Spaniard is aware that he needs to perform well this year to secure a seat in the category, as he will be leaving the Maranello team in favor of Lewis Hamilton from 2025.

During the past weekend, the Frenchman granted an interview published on the official Formula 1 website. Fred Vasseur was asked about how Carlos Sainz had reacted to the news of his replacement in 2025, when Lewis Hamilton will join the Maranello team. Here are some of his most important comments:

Fred Vasseur on Carlos Sainz

The Ferrari team principal stated: “Honestly, I was convinced he would have this kind of reaction. That’s also why we decided to make the announcement quite early to turn the page and focus on this season. Carlos’ reaction has been more than professional, saying, ‘Okay, I have a year, and I will do my best from the first to the last corner of the season.'” – Fred Vasseur pointed out.

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The Frenchman then added: “Today in the race, he was very strong, very solid, did a great job. I am more than happy.” Looking at the entire weekend, Fred said, “The positive side is that we would have been able to take pole position with the fastest lap of the session, and maybe we closed 50% of the gap to Red Bull in the race compared to a year ago. The negative aspect is that it’s not enough, and we still had too many problems during the weekend. We need to solve the brake issue on Charles’ car, but overall, I think he did a good job. Also, from the pit wall, because we managed to secure P4 in these conditions.” – he explained.

Frederic Vasseur concluded: “If you compare it with a year ago, we were, let’s say, a second away, and today we are maybe five tenths. It’s 50%, it’s not enough, we are still behind, but scoring points with P3 and P4 given the circumstances, I believe it’s not a tragedy.”