The highlight of the 2025 Method 1 season will undoubtedly be on Lewis Hamilton as he embarks on his first 12 months with Ferrari, marking a historic chapter in his illustrious profession. After spending 17 seasons with McLaren and Mercedes, Hamilton now joins probably the most iconic staff in F1 historical past, chasing a record-breaking eighth world championship. Ferrari, although a powerhouse within the sport, has not seen a driver declare the championship since 2007, when Kimi Raikkonen narrowly edged Hamilton within the last race of the season.
The Scuderia got here agonizingly near profitable the title once more in 2008, just for Hamilton’s dramatic overtake on Timo Glock within the closing laps of the Brazilian Grand Prix to disclaim Felipe Massa his first championship. Since then, Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc have come shut, with Alonso ending second within the standings twice and Leclerc attaining the identical feat in 2022, however falling far behind Max Verstappen within the factors.
Nonetheless, 2025 may very well be the 12 months Ferrari lastly ends its championship drought. Sadly for Carlos Sainz, he gained’t have the chance to guide the cost. In a troublesome resolution, staff principal Frederic Vasseur selected to switch Carlos Sainz with the British driver for the brand new season, leaving the Spanish driver to race for Williams as a substitute.
Autosport journalist and F1 professional Roberto Chinchero has make clear the emotional challenges confronted by Carlos Sainz in his exit from Ferrari, revealing that the shortage of other F1 affords proved to be even more durable for the 30-year-old than dropping his seat to Hamilton.
Roberto Chinchero mentioned Carlos Sainz’s exit from the Maranello staff, explaining that whereas not everybody understood why the staff let Carlos Sainz go final 12 months, the driving force himself accepted that his substitute wouldn’t be simply any driver. Based on the Italian journalist, it was not the truth that Lewis Hamilton could be taking his seat that was most troublesome for Carlos Sainz to just accept, however moderately that three different prime groups had vacancies and didn’t strategy him. Chinchero additionally famous that, over time, even the Italian media had come to acknowledge that Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari was one thing really exceptional. He added that whereas the long run could be decided by efficiency on observe, the preliminary a part of the story—with out the noise of the engines—had been flawless.
Each Mercedes and Pink Bull have made important modifications to their driver line-ups for the 2025 Method 1 season, whereas McLaren has remained constant by protecting Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of their seats. In distinction, Carlos Sainz has launched into a brand new chapter of his profession with Williams, a staff at present positioned decrease within the standings than he would have hoped.
Why Did Carlos Sainz Be part of Williams in 2025?
The announcement of Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari in February 2024 created a ripple impact all through the paddock, and Sainz’s availability turned broadly identified nicely earlier than the driving force market frenzy, often known as “foolish season,” really started. With a number of high-profile drivers getting into the market on the finish of the 2024 season, the Spaniard was linked to almost each prime staff.
Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ staff principal, confirmed that Sainz was one in all their choices earlier than they finally determined to advertise Andrea Kimi Antonelli to the senior staff. In the meantime, Audi expressed a robust need to signal the Spanish driver, however the present struggles confronted by Sauber made it unclear if the staff may very well be aggressive within the close to future. Pink Bull, alternatively, didn’t actively pursue Carlos Sainz, probably because of the strained relationship between his father and Max Verstappen’s camp.
After contemplating numerous choices, Carlos Sainz selected to signal with Williams, a choice that was welcomed by staff principal James Vowles, who was desperate to safe the deal. Whereas Williams is probably not ready to compete for championships within the speedy future, Sainz will probably be seeking to assist the staff climb the standings over the approaching seasons. For the Grove-based staff, will probably be important to display to Sainz that, though a title problem is probably not on the playing cards for now, he has joined an formidable and upward-bound staff.