Carlos Sainz Just Opened Up About Lewis Hamilton Shockingly Taking His Ferrari Seat
The world was shocked when Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton left Mercedes in February 2024 to sign a lucrative multi-year deal with Ferrari. Understandably so.
Hamilton had been with Mercedes since 2013. Fans were floored that he left. But do you know who was even more surprised? That would be Carlos Sainz, Hamilton’s predecessor. After joining Ferrari in 2021, his contract ended pretty much just as Hamilton was shopping around. The latter’s decision effectively booted him from the carmaker’s team.
Of course, the 30-year-old has since landed on his feet at Mercedes, where he’s earning a $10 million base salary, with likely much more incentives. After all, F1 is more popular than ever. Between the Netflix docuseries, the global appeal and the rise of Formula 1 betting, there is plenty of money to be dispersed.
With this popularity, however, comes increased scrutiny. Everything is overanalyzed and dissected. In particular, drama within the sports is catnip for fans and industry insiders. Hamilton taking Sainz’s spot on Ferrari is no different. People are still talking about it basically 18 months later. And this includes Sainz himself.
Carlos Sainz Couldn’t Believe the Lewis Hamilton-to-Ferrari News
During a recent interview on the High Performance podcast, Sainz was asked about the entire ordeal. He did not hold back in his response. Here is what he had to say, via Jamie Woodhouse of Planet F1:
“I think it was around the end of January or February,’ Sainz began. ‘I was in the middle of my training preparation for the 2024 season, I was hopeful that the Ferrari was going to be a competitive car. I had done everything in December and January, obviously, to prepare myself for that season. Contract negotiations with Ferrari were a bit stalled in a weird way, because we were talking since October to renew my contract. They kept postponing the point of signing and the point of coming to an agreement. But I never felt suspicious and I never felt like it was not going to happen, because every feedback that I was getting was, ‘We’re going to continue, for sure, this is just going to take only a couple hours to agree to the economics side of things and the two or three things we need to agree on your future contract. But it’s going to be an easy contract, and we will do it very quickly.’
“And I was like, ‘Okay, okay.’ So I just went into the winter with that mentality of it will get sorted before race one of the ’24 season. And suddenly, in the middle of January, end of January, I receive a phone call and they suddenly tell me the news. I heard from a friend that called me. I was completely shocked. I went from believing I was going to be in Ferrari for a while, to suddenly Lewis is replacing me, and [asking] ‘What am I going to do now?’ It never occurred to me that that could happen, and it was a bit shocking.”
The level of surprise from Sainz is totally understandable. Especially when you consider how he found out. A friend having to tell him is wild. It is akin to how NFL, NHL, MLB and NBA players talk about how they find out they’re being traded from breaking news reports on X (formerly Twitter). You assume because these pro athletes are hot commodities and making lots of money that they will always be in the know. That clearly isn’t the case.
There is Another Twist to the Carlos Sainz-Lewis Hamilton Story
There was also definitely some underhanded stuff happening behind the scenes. For Ferrari to tell Sainz “We’re going to continue, for sure” only to give him the boot is truly bizarre. These types of transactions happen fairly frequently in F1. Drivers changing teams isn’t new. But this feels like a bad-faith negotiation from how Sainz tells it.
Let’s also not forget how awkward the way this unfolded made things. Ferrari made the decision before the 2024 season kicked off. That meant Sainz had to drive for them all while knowing he wouldn’t be with the company into 2025.
Hamilton obviously dealt with the same thing at Mercedes. The difference is, leaving was his choice. Sainz, on the other hand, was being displaced by the hand of someone else.
People are Already Wondering Whether Ferrari Made a Mistake by Signing Hamilton and Getting Rid of Sainz
Think this story is out of plot twists? Think again.
Talk around F1 circles has already shifted to whether Ferrari made a mistake swapping out Sainz for Hamilton. The seven-time champion ranks sixth in the standings, behind teammate Charles Leclerc, and has yet to pick up a podium victory on the season. This is not the kind of performance for which Ferrari is paying him upwards of $60 million.
Those loyal to Sainz will insist it is a mistake. Perhaps they end up being correct. For the moment, it is too early to tell.
Switching Formula One teams is a big adjustment. You are driving a completely different machine. Each team also operates in different capacities. Grace periods are needed. Learning curves are inevitable.
Mind you, the same goes for Sainz since joining Mercedes. He ranks 15th in the standings and is currently working through a truly brutal stretch. In his first four races, he received a Did Not Finish (Bahrain), 14th place (Japan), 10th place (China) and another Did Not Finish (Australia).
Things have not gotten much better since. Out of his most recent five races, he has placed no better than 10th. And for the entire season, has failed to finish better than eighth.
Time will tell which team, Ferrari or Mercedes, winds up getting more bang for their buck. For now, both Hamilton and Sainz are clearly going through the motions—which, under the circumstances, is to be expected.
