Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says having to inform Carlos Sainz that he was going to be replaced by Lewis Hamilton in 2025 made for one of the most difficult phone calls of his life. Sainz was the only non-Red Bull winner in 2023 and had …
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says having to inform Carlos Sainz that he was going to be replaced by Lewis Hamilton in 2025 made for one of the most difficult phone calls of his life.
Sainz was the only non-Red Bull winner in 2023 and had wanted to finalize a new contract with Ferrari before the start of this season. However, the Spaniard will now leave at the end of the year to make way for Hamilton after the shock signing of the seven-time world champion, and Vasseur admits speaking to both Sainz and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was tough.
“As you can imagine, it was not the easiest call of my life,” Vasseur said. “One of the most difficult, with the one with Toto! I’m fully convinced he’s a very professional driver, that he understands that we have a long season in front of us — it’s a huge opportunity, and I think it’s also a dream to be in this situation, to have the team behind him.
“I think we had a long discussion as you can imagine, but I will be fully supportive of Carlos — he is fully committed and we know that we have to do the job together; we are professional.”
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Although Vasseur disputes the suggestion that it’s unfair for Sainz to lose his seat after performing strongly in 2023, he admits the decision to sign Hamilton had nothing to do with his current driver’s abilities.
“Unfair, I don’t know if it is the right word because I think for the team, the opportunity of Lewis is something that you have to consider in any case. He’s the guy with the biggest experience, and it’s a huge opportunity for us; it’s nothing to do with Carlos. Carlos did a great job last year, I’m sure he will do a great job next year. We have a very good personal relationship but it is like it is and we have to be focused on the future.”
The Ferrari team principal is confident the current two drivers will continue to work well together, with Charles Leclerc and Sainz having enjoyed a strong relationship over the past three seasons.
“Honestly, all through the season, we have always a good relationship between them. I’m not asking them to be the best friends in the world and go on vacation together, I’m asking them to work in the interests of Ferrari first, and in the right way, in the right approach and with the right mentality. All through the season, they did a good job. I think it’s also with this kind of relationship that we were able to come back and catch up, and thanks to them for the professionalism.”
Lewis Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari in 2025 sent shockwaves through Formula 1 last week, and the ripples are still being felt far and wide. Not only is there massive anticipation as to what a Hamilton and Ferrari partnership is going to look …
Lewis Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari in 2025 sent shockwaves through Formula 1 last week, and the ripples are still being felt far and wide.
Not only is there massive anticipation as to what a Hamilton and Ferrari partnership is going to look like next year, but there’s the knock-on impact on the team he’s leaving, as well as the driver that he is replacing.
For Mercedes, it’s a strangely familiar situation. When Nico Rosberg stunned the team by opting to retire with immediate effect after becoming world champion in 2016, it suddenly had a highly-coveted seat that nobody had expected to be available.
The same is true now, although with two clear differences. One, the seat isn’t quite as valuable as it was when Mercedes was dominating so much, with Red Bull now the clear best car. And two, there’s a lot more time to work out who Mercedes wants to select, and a huge number of drivers out of contract and therefore available to join.
Back in 2016, the driver market had already played out and there were very few current race drivers definitely free to be signed that Mercedes would have wanted. It had to come to an agreement with Williams to secure Valtteri Bottas, while Williams in turn needed to secure the agreement of Felipe Massa to come out of retirement.
This time around, only Max Verstappen and the Ferrari (yes, by that I include Hamilton in 2025) and McLaren drivers are under contract. George Russell obviously is too but in a Mercedes seat, with the remaining 14 drivers awaiting their next deal. That means there are so many potential candidates to be Hamilton’s replacement.
Within those are varying types of driver, and Toto Wolff admits he’s looking forward to working out which direction to head in next alongside Russell.
“Of course with all the Lewis discussion something that has not been talked enough is George,” Wolff said. “George has the potential to be the next lead driver in the team. He’s of the generation of Lando [Norris] and [Charles] Leclerc and some of the others, and I couldn’t wish for a new team leader when Lewis leaves, no doubt about that.
“So we have such a solid foundation, such a quick and talented and intelligent guy in the car, that we just need to take the right choice for the second driver, the second seat. That’s not something I want to be rushed in.
“I guess that a few contracts have been signed a few weeks ago that we could have looked at, that could have been interesting, but the timing here bit us a bit. But in a way I always like change because change provides opportunity and in the same way we’ve embraced the Nico situation – and that was equally from one moment to the other unexpected – I’m really looking forward in taking the right decisions for the team, together with my colleagues, in who’s going to be in the seat next year, and maybe it’s a chance to do something bold.”
If Mercedes wants to pair Russell with someone of a similar generation who needs a chance to try and prove themselves in a front-running seat again, then Alex Albon likely tops that list. Albon’s time at Williams has been hugely impressive and he has evolved into a team leader who is able to consistently deliver under pressure for a team that only gets a select few chances for strong results.
Alex Albon could be an option for Mercedes, despite being under contract. Jake Grant/Motorsport Images
Albon is 27 but has only made 81 grand prix starts, compared to another clear option in the form of Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard has another 100 starts over Albon and has proven himself in race-winning machinery, offering a very solid all-round option for Mercedes and great experience in terms of race starts and teams driven for – Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren and Ferrari – all before he’s even turned 30.
That should make Sainz one of the frontrunners for the Mercedes seat, but also any other vacancy aside from perhaps Red Bull given his history with Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso. A seat swap with Hamilton would certainly make sense, but given the quality of some of the other candidates he’s part of a fierce battle for the drive.
His fellow Spaniard could well be a bold option that Wolff speaks of. Fernando Alonso has proven at Aston Martin that he’s lost none of his skills as he moves further into his forties, and has been a supporter of Russell’s for many years. Their strong relationship make an Alonso-Mercedes partnership far more conceivable, especially as it would be the closest thing in terms of pairing one of the best drivers with one of the most successful teams as Hamilton and Ferrari.
There’s another attractive aspect to opting for Alonso, as a similarly short-term deal to the one Hamilton signed would buy a bit of time to analyze the complete opposite end of the spectrum in Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
The Italian youngster is a name you might well have heard of by now, having been part of the Mercedes set-up since he was 11, and sensational in karts before also winning two Formula 4 title last year. Mercedes is so excited by his potential that he has skipped Formula 3 completely to race for Prema in Formula 2, and how he fares will be fascinating to watch.
A strong year only furthers the feeling that Antonelli will be in F1 sooner rather than later, while a title-contending one might just put him in the frame for a Mercedes drive himself. Mercedes opted to blood Russell at Williams for a number of seasons but it didn’t have an immediate vacancy like it does for 2025, and was fighting for titles.
Wolff insisted he “would rather not start any speculation about Kimi going into F1 at this stage” when asked about the potential of Antonelli being the bold choice he speaks of, but had been offered the opportunity to say it’s too soon and declined to do so.
It’s just another option of many that cover pretty much every base that Mercedes wants. Reserve driver Mick Schumacher, former junior Esteban Ocon – there are numerous that the team has links to and good knowledge of, too.
That doesn’t play into the hands of Sainz so much in that he faces stiff competition despite the level of performance he can offer, and he’s now facing a situation where he is more likely to have to wait on Mercedes than the other way around.
It’s a seat that could come his way, but if not then he needs to be ready to react to the ripples Wolff’s decision will create, and realistically hope it’s not Antonelli who gets the nod in order to open up a space elsewhere.
Both the Mercedes seat and Sainz are highly attractive propositions, and surely someone is going to snap the two-time race winner up – with Audi long rumored to be suitors ahead of its entry in 2026 – but after Hamilton’s bombshell it’s now over to the team he’s departing to call the shots.
Sainz posted on social media after the news that Lewis Hamilton is set to replace him at Ferrari in 2025.
With the shocking news that Lewis Hamilton is joining Scuderia Ferrari from 2025 onward, another Formula 1 driver is currently left without a seat with the move.
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has been with the Prancing Horse since 2021, but with Hamilton’s arrival in 2025, he’ll be left without a drive as Hamilton teams with his current teammate Charles Leclerc — at least in theory. Sainz is certain to be a well-regarded driver in the free-agent market for F1, and he seemed to imply as such on social media Thursday.
Sainz made his own statement in the wake of the news, and while he (like Hamilton on the other end) made sure to stress that he’s still driving for Ferrari in 2024, he’ll definitely have some plans in F1 after that.
Here is what Sainz wrote on social media in wake of the news:
“Following today’s news, Scuderia Ferrari and myself will part ways at the end of 2024. We still have a long season ahead of us and, like always, I will give my absolute best for the team and for the Tifosi all around the world. News about my future will be announced in due course.“
In his career at Ferrari, Sainz has won two races, netted 16 podium places and has scored 610.5 points.
There are a few options for Carlos Sainz in 2025, and he is sure to have suitors. Audi’s new F1 program taking over Sauber will be ready in 2026, and that could be an opportunity he can jump onto. There will be an opening at Mercedes with Hamilton gone, and additionally, many will be watching that second Red Bull seat currently occupied by Sergio Perez. All in all, Sainz is likely to find a suitor somewhere on the grid for 2025.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the team has options that are “exciting to contemplate” when it comes to replacing Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton next year. Hamilton’s shock switch was confirmed on Thursday evening, with the seven-time world …
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the team has options that are “exciting to contemplate” when it comes to replacing Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton next year.
Hamilton’s shock switch was confirmed on Thursday evening, with the seven-time world champion activating a break clause in the two-year deal he signed in August to join Ferrari in 2025. Wolff says he knew that the partnership would have to end at some stage but that Mercedes has a number of possibilities to replace Hamilton.
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“In terms of a team-driver pairing, our relationship with Lewis has become the most successful the sport has seen, and that’s something we can look back on with pride; Lewis will always be an important part of Mercedes motorsport history,” Wolff said.
“However, we knew our partnership would come to a natural end at some point, and that day has now come. We accept Lewis’s decision to seek a fresh challenge, and our opportunities for the future are exciting to contemplate. But for now, we still have one season to go, and we are focused on going racing to deliver a strong 2024.”
One such option could prove to be the driver Hamilton is replacing at Maranello, with Carlos Sainz on the market in 2025 and offering an experienced race winner. The Spaniard says his future plans will be announced at a later date.
“Following today’s news, Scuderia Ferrari and myself will part ways at the end of 2024,” Sainz said. “We still have a long season ahead of us and, like always, I will give my absolute best for the team and for the tifosi all around the world.
“News about my future will be announced in due course.”
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur admits he has missed targets when it comes to finalizing the Formula 1 futures of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz but expects to do so soon. Both Leclerc and Sainz are out of contract at the end of next season, …
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur admits he has missed targets when it comes to finalizing the Formula 1 futures of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz but expects to do so soon.
Both Leclerc and Sainz are out of contract at the end of next season, as two of the biggest names among 75% of the grid that have deals expiring in a year’s time. Vasseur had wanted to make a decision on the Ferrari drivers’ respective futures by the end of 2023 but he says there is no cause for concern that the timeline has been pushed back beyond the New Year.
“As you know, they are under contract with us until the end of 2024 — it means that we still have 13 months in front of us,” Vasseur said. “It’s quite comfortable and if you have a look, Mercedes renewed the contract by the end of August and that meant that we still have a lot of weeks and months in front of us.
“But I told you, I think one year ago, that we will try to take a decision by the end of the year. I have to admit the last part of the season was a big chaos for everybody and I think it was very demanding and we had meetings and started the discussion, but we are late compared to the initial plan.
“It’s not an issue at all — we are much in advance compared to Mercedes and we are easy on this that we will take the decision soon.”
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Given a run of five races in six weeks that ended the season, Vasseur says the intense nature of the calendar played a part in driver performances over the course of the year. Expecting similar in 2024, the Frenchman explains he is wary of asking too much of Leclerc and Sainz during the off-season when they need to recharge.
“They had a lot of involvement into the development of the car from the beginning. And they are quite pleased with the situation,” Vasseur said. “Now it’s not at all a clear indication of what we will do next year but it’s important to have them on board from the beginning.
“I think they were both quite exhausted after the season; it was a long one for everybody but it’s also a long one for them. After Abu Dhabi they had the test and then we had a demo in Saudi, so it was a never-ending story. They came back the week after and they were in the simulator. They will have a break for the next two or three weeks and be back on the 9th or 10th of January.
“It’s good also for them to manage their time and it will be even worse or more difficult next year. With more races — starting a bit earlier, finishing a bit later — I think during the season every single driver was a bit up and down. We have to anticipate this and to do a good job on this because I think it will be part of the performance, and I think they completely deserve the Christmas break.”
Ferrari deserved to finish behind Mercedes in this year’s constructors’ championship, believes Carlos Sainz, but the progress the team made through the season gives him hope for 2024. Charles Leclerc’s second place in the final race in Abu Dhabi was …
Ferrari deserved to finish behind Mercedes in this year’s constructors’ championship, believes Carlos Sainz, but the progress the team made through the season gives him hope for 2024.
Charles Leclerc’s second place in the final race in Abu Dhabi was not enough to overhaul Mercedes, with George Russell finishing third to ensure the two teams were separated by just three points at the end of the year. Having come so close to repeating the result of 2022, Sainz says Mercedes’ consistency was the key, but points to Ferrari’s improvement as the year went on as a reason for optimism.
“I think it’s fair,” Sainz said. “I think we’ve had our moments where we’ve been quicker, I think Mercedes had their moments when they’ve been quicker. Overall, maybe a bit of reliability here and there and probably overall I think we’ve been a quicker car but they’ve been a little bit more consistent than us.
“Anyway, I think it’s a season where the team has made a lot of progress. I think we’ve learned a lot from this car, from these tires. We finished the season a lot stronger than what we started. And it’s something we can bank on for next year, expecting hopefully a more competitive package.”
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With Ferrari having one of its cars fail to start a race on two occasions from the final six rounds — through Sainz in Qatar and Leclerc in Brazil — the Spaniard says that is another area that needs addressing, as the pair of DNS results ultimately proved costly.
“Yes, 100%,” he said. “At the same time, I prefer a team that shows progress in terms of progress, pace, tire learning with a car that is anyway not fighting for the championship, than one or two races of reliability. But for sure we want to be the whole package — we need to improve how tight we arrive to the end of the season also.
“For sure the issue in Qatar, the issue in Vegas with the problem we had with the chassis change and [in Abu Dhabi] again on the Friday, it’s not going to help our reliability and our scoring points. It’s something to learn from but at the same time, I’m proud with how the team has progressed through the season.”
After dropping out in Q1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz said some drivers deliberately cost others lap time in close qualifying sessions by being within a few seconds through certain corners. A crash on Friday put Sainz behind …
After dropping out in Q1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz said some drivers deliberately cost others lap time in close qualifying sessions by being within a few seconds through certain corners.
A crash on Friday put Sainz behind heading into qualifying, and he duly was eliminated in 16th place after saying he struggled with traffic on his final Q1 run. The Spaniard says drivers know the distance that would prove tricky for a following car in quick corners and when the field is closely matched, it opens up the potential for some gamesmanship to try and impact others.
“It’s tricky, but there were cars out there today and between us drivers we know that if you do a corner within two seconds of another car — one or two seconds in front — then you’re going to make him lose a tenth or two in that corner,” Sainz said.
“I see people as the weekends have gone by relaxing a bit on that, and when it’s tight in Q1 or Q2 I see people giving some dirty air on purpose in some corners, to maybe make the others lose some time in those corners. Which we don’t consider impeding, but it’s not like (it’s obvious) but you know you’re giving him dirty air and you know you’re giving him a bad run in that corner. So by going out last, I did basically all of Sector 1 and 2 very close to the cars in front and found myself losing tenths in Turns 3 and 4.”
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However, Sainz acknowledged he was already on the back foot even without any potential influence from other drivers, and that it will be tough to score points on Sunday.
“Clearly, the pace all weekend hasn’t been the strongest and we needed a perfect Q1 and Q2, given how tight the field is,” he admitted. “We had a very scrappy Q1 — we went out very late onto the last run, we had a problem with the front wing which meant we were the last car out and once I opened my last lap I found myself in a lot of traffic in Sector 1 and 2 and lost a couple of tenths there that probably cost me the spot in Q2.
“I’m hoping it will be better. I feel like for some reason this weekend we have struggled on the soft tire but the long runs haven’t looked too bad. We know what we need to do tomorrow, which is a good recovery, get back into the points and see where Mercedes ends up. We need a very strong day tomorrow if we want to score any points.”
Carlos Sainz says he was made a passenger in his heavy crash during practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as the current generation of Formula 1 cars snap away so quickly. The Ferrari driver was entering the high-speed Turn 3 early in FP2 when the …
Carlos Sainz says he was made a passenger in his heavy crash during practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as the current generation of Formula 1 cars snap away so quickly.
The Ferrari driver was entering the high-speed Turn 3 early in FP2 when the car appeared to be unsettled by a bump and he spun through 360 degrees before hitting the barrier hard on the outside of the track. The session was red-flagged for over 20 minutes as a result of the clean-up operation, and Sainz says the way the uneven track surface caused him to lose performance meant there was no time to regain control.
“For some reason there’s been a change in the track compared to other years,” Sainz said. “There’s two bumps — one at the exit of Turn 2 and one at the entry of Turn 3 — that with this generation of car is upsetting it a lot. It nearly caught me out in FP1 and I changed a few things in the setup and in the line trying to get rid of it and then for some reason again on that lap it surprised me.
“It must have been an angle or exactly the way I took the bump and it made me be a passenger from there on. We’ve seen before with this generation of cars that any of these small bumps can really make you spin or make you have a pretty heavy crash. It’s not ideal but it is what it is. We’ll try and make it better for tomorrow.”
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Sainz suggested there could also have been other factors that played a role in the crash after making setup changes between sessions.
“We were definitely changing things from FP1 to FP2 that might have had an effect, but obviously I’m not going to go into details about that,” he said. “Unfortunately I just couldn’t control the car — it just snapped on me and it’s those moments where you feel like you are a complete passenger and you wish you maybe would have done something different.”
Sainz confirmed that he was physically fine despite the heavy impact as a result of the crash, as he went side-on into barrier.
“I’m feeling good, thanks — it was a pretty big crash but again, with these safe cars you can get away with these pretty big hits pretty untouched and that’s the case. I’m obviously a little bit sore but nothing to worry about … We shouldn’t take any penalties, so all good for the rest of the weekend.”
Ferrari talks about the “unacceptable” incident for Carlos Sainz during FP1 in Las Vegas. What did Ferrari have to say about Sainz’s issues?
Ferrari had plenty of work to do following a canceled FP1 in Las Vegas as [autotag]Carlos Sainz[/autotag] suffered major damage due to running over a drain cover. Sainz will be forced to take a 10-place grid penalty after taking a third new Energy Store during the 2023 season. It was a shocking incident that forced FP2 to be delayed until 5:30 AM EST on Friday morning.
Following the incident, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur talked about Sainz’s incident as it would set back the team by a decent amount. Obviously, Vassuer was furious about the issue as the track’s safety shouldn’t have become a problem on Thursday night.
The moment Carlos Sainz hit a drain cover on the Las Vegas strip, causing FP1 to be cancelled 👀 pic.twitter.com/KIMbuZoteY
“What [Carlos Sainz] said was ‘I hit something on track.’ He didn’t know exactly what it was,” said Vasseur. “The situation is that we’ve changed the monocoque, the engine, the battery – I think it’s just unacceptable. We’ve [expletive] up the session for Carlos. We have to change the chassis of the car. I think it’s just unacceptable from F1 today.”
Sainz was able to run in FP2 as the session was delayed due to work on the track. The Ferrari driver finished in second place behind teammate Charles Leclerc but his life will be harder during the main event. Ferrari has every right to be upset about the incident during FP1 as Formula 1 should’ve made sure the track was completely ready.
Carlos Sainz says he is “in disbelief” at the10-place grid penalty he was given for the Las Vegas Grand Prix as a result of exceeding power unit components – a situation caused by his car hitting a drain cover in FP1. The Ferrari driver struck the …
Carlos Sainz says he is “in disbelief” at the10-place grid penalty he was given for the Las Vegas Grand Prix as a result of exceeding power unit components — a situation caused by his car hitting a drain cover in FP1.
The Ferrari driver struck the loose drain at 200mph and suffered significant damage to the chassis as well as power unit components as the engine cut off as a result. After changing the chassis, Ferrari also had to change the internal combustion engine (ICE), energy store (ES) and control electronics (CE), with the energy store requiring a third of that component.
Drivers are limited to two energy stores per season so Ferrari lobbied the stewards for a reprieve due to the cause of the damage to it, but the request was refused based on the regulations.
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“Having heard from (Ferrari), the director of the FIA Single Seater Department, having viewed video evidence and examined the team’s declaration sheet, the stewards determine that, notwithstanding the fact that the damage was caused by highly unusual external circumstances, Article 2.1 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations obliges all officials, including the stewards, to apply the regulations as they are written.
“Accordingly, the mandatory penalty specified under Article 28.3 of the Sporting Regulations must be applied.
“The stewards note that if they had the authority to grant a derogation in what they consider in this case to be mitigating, unusual and unfortunate circumstances, they would have done so, however the regulations do not allow such action.”
As a result, Sainz was given a grid drop of 10 positions for Saturday night’s grand prix. The Spaniard was at least able to compete in FP2 due to the delays that were encountered to allow for track repairs, posting second-fastest time to teammate Charles Leclerc, but that was scant consolation for him when told of the penalty.
“You can clearly see this weekend we are relatively competitive as I think that the track layout is suiting us a bit more compared to the last few, and we seem to be switching on the tires well over one lap,” Sainz said. “So I was quite excited and optimistic.
“Unfortunately, as the session finished the team communicated to me that I was taking a 10-place grid penalty, for something that I have no fault and the team has no fault. This has obviously completely changed my mindset and my opinion on how the weekend is going to go from now on. You can obviously imagine how disappointed and in disbelief with the situation I am, and you will not see me very happy this weekend.
“Yes, there will be opportunities (to overtake). But as I said, right now I’m just too disappointed with the outcome and I don’t want to talk too much about the future because what happened today for me is a very clear example of how this sport can be improved in so many ways. FIA, teams, rules that could clearly be applied as force majeure for me not to take a penalty, but somehow people always (find) some ways to make the situation worse for an individual and I think in this case it’s my turn to pay the price.”
