Sainz Sr. Grateful For Ferrari's 'Fantastic Gesture' After Driver Switch
F1
Carlos Sainz Sr, the father of Williams Racing F1 driver Carlos Sainz Jr, revealed what really led to Ferrari driver change.
Ferrari had the same driver lineup consisting of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz for four seasons in the years 2021-2024.
Following the end of 2023, it was time for new contract negotiations, as both of their drivers' contracts were set to expire after the end of 2024. The Italian F1 team stated they were pleased with their (then) current lineup.
However, at the beginning of 2024, Ferrari announced a change of plans, signing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton instead of Sainz.
The 30-year-old didn't expect and wasn't ready for this change at the time, but he gradually came to peace with it. Although, he stated that he still couldn't "understand certain choices that people have made."
Reflecting on the separation between his son and the F1 team from Maranello, Carlos Sainz Sr (F1 driver's father) suggested in an interview with El Cafelito that he had no hard feelings towards Ferrari:
"I wouldn't describe it as the Scuderia behaving badly. The circumstances of the perfect storm have arisen. Ferrari was happy with Carlos but the possibility appeared because Hamilton himself produced it."
For a long time, it was unclear who initiated the contact between Hamilton and Ferrari, but Sainz clarified that the former Mercedes driver contacted the F1 team.
"It is he who approached Ferrari, then the circumstances arose. Perhaps that process could have been clearer, but then it would have been leaked, and Ferrari did not want it to be."
While initially telling Sainz that he would be replaced at the end of the year surely wasn't pleasant, the Ferrari and its team principal Fred Vasseur managed to retain a good relationship with the 30-year-old.
What's more, the F1 team organized a special event after the end of their last season together - an F1 car testing session at Circuit Fiorano for both him and his father. Sainz Sr added:
"But then they had a fantastic detail with [Sainz Jr], a gesture that they have not had with practically any driver in their history, which is the farewell."
"They gave him a car, they invited me to drive in Fiorano with a Formula 1 [car]."
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