'Certainly Not Best Feeling': Sainz Opens Up About Being Replaced At Ferrari

F1
Wednesday, 07 February 2024 at 08:00
Updated at Sunday, 11 February 2024 at 10:47
carlos sainz ferrari33

In a recent interview, Carlos Sainz reflected on how it feels to enter the 2024 season, knowing that Lewis Hamilton will replace him.

Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton made one of the biggest moves in Formula 1 history when he decided to switch from Mercedes to Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season.

However, he did it in a very unusual way, where he announced it a year earlier, which means both he and Carlos Sainz have to stay with their teams for one more year, knowing they are leaving at the end of it no matter what.

During his first interview since the announcement, the Spanish driver suggested he is working on the future, but he still wants to do his best with Scuderia. He told Sky Italy:

"I'm calm , we are already working on the future, but we know that we have a very important season ahead of us. This will be my last year in Ferrari , so I want to do the best I can."

Sainz has played an equal game with Charles Leclerc for the most part of his stay in Ferrari and has been the only driver to beat Red Bull in 2023.

"I am aware of how much I am worth as a driver, and for this reason I am very calm when I look to the future. Good things will definitely come, but for now my goal remains to do my best with Ferrari."

Asked whether knowing that Hamilton will replace him in Ferrari makes him start the season with different feelings than usual, the 29-year-old responded:

"It's certainly not the best feeling to start the season with, but the moment I put on the helmet in Bahrain and hit the track, the only feeling I will have is the desire to go faster and faster, also aiming for the World Championship victory."