Carlos Sainz admits he was "suffering" after Ferrari's decision to sign Hamilton
Carlos Sainz admitted he knew Ferrari would never replace Charles Leclerc when Lewis Hamilton became available, acknowledging that the team had always centered its project around the Monegasque.
After Ferrari announced in February that seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will replace Carlos Sainz from 2025, the Spaniard has been linked with several outfits.
Following month-long paddock chatter, the talks ended in August when Williams confirmed that they secured the services of the three-time F1 race winner who will join the Grove-based outfit from Ferrari on a two-year agreement with options to extend.
Reflecting on his initial emotions after the announcement, Sainz has acknowledged that he first struggled to accept Ferrari's decision, but he later came to terms with it.
“I understand it was never going to be Charles. Charles has been the project of Ferrari ever since he’s been a junior driver. He’s been the center of the project for many years.”
“When you understand Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, and one of the best – if not the best – in history, is going to replace you at Ferrari… You need to be one of the two drivers sacrificed for that to happen.”
“I could sit here and say, ‘No, I wasn’t angry with anyone,’ but, at the time when they give you this news, you’re angry. You don’t understand it. You curse, you don’t understand anything that has happened to you.”
Despite Ferrari's decision, the Spaniard managed to get over the setback to deliver a series of sensational performances. The Madrid-born driver showed a dominant form in the third race of the year to take a stunning victory at the Australian Grand Prix before dominating the Mexico City Grand Prix in the closing stages of last season.
“I remember being very emotional on that Australian Grand Prix podium because… they’ve all seen me suffer during the winter. When I say suffer, I don’t mean I was crying behind closed doors, but I was actually hurt.”
“I told them what I thought and moved on and promised them that I was going to give my absolute best for Ferrari, even though all this has happened in the last year," concluded Sainz.
