The 2024 market ‘bomb’
With the 2024 championship now definitively closed, Ferrari gathered at Fiorano on Tuesday to formally bid farewell to Carlos Sainz, a driver who has represented the Scuderia over the previous 4 seasons and who will be part of Williams in 2025. This transfer, introduced earlier within the season, was a direct consequence of Ferrari’s shocking announcement made even earlier than the beginning of the championship, when the crew revealed the settlement reached with Lewis Hamilton for 2025.
A real market ‘bomb’ that shocked followers and insiders alike, together with Mercedes Workforce Principal Toto Wolff and Carlos Sainz himself. The Spaniard, in a current interview on F1’s official podcast *Past the Grid*, admitted he had been virtually fully sure he would proceed his journey at Maranello in 2025, a situation that may as a substitute not come to cross.
The shock
A choice that brought on him ache however in the end helped him change into a greater driver: “Initially of the yr, I used to be examined greater than I ever had been earlier than, and life put me in a really uncomfortable place,” he admitted. “I used to be advised that I wouldn’t proceed with the crew I used to be 99% positive I’d maintain working with over the winter. It was an enormous shock to my hopes, and naturally, I didn’t get pleasure from that second. I nonetheless educated and ready for the season, aiming to be able to win races, to win a championship if the chance arose, and I approached that yr nonetheless filled with vitality, however clearly in an uncomfortable state of affairs and at an uncomfortable time.
“I bear in mind being very emotional on the rostrum at the Australian Grand Prix as a result of my father, my supervisor, my girlfriend, and everybody near me have been there. In fact, I used to be pondering of my mom. All of them had seen me endure over the winter, and once I say endure, I don’t imply crying behind closed doorways, however I used to be genuinely damage as a result of I didn’t anticipate it. I wasn’t ready for that type of information. I stayed a bit in shock for some time.
“I bear in mind after Australia eager about how fortunate I’m to have folks round me who assist me and provides me the internal power to beat a tough time. Now, once I suppose again on it, I’m virtually blissful, proud that it occurred, as a result of it made me a greater driver and a greater athlete total.”
Nonetheless a future at Maranello?
The brand new problem for Carlos Sainz is the one awaiting him in 2025 on the wheel of the Williams, however the four-time Grand Prix winner hasn’t dominated out a possible return to Ferrari sooner or later if the chance arises: “Sure, why not? I don’t see why not,” he concluded. “On the similar time, I don’t see the way it might occur anytime quickly, however life is lengthy. I’m 30, however in F1, you see drivers at 42. So, if I have been to remain in F1 that lengthy, who’s to say that within the subsequent 10 years, Ferrari may not want me once more? This doesn’t imply I’m hoping for it or wanting ahead to such issues taking place. Proper now, I’ve a really massive aim in thoughts, which is to assist Williams get again to the highest of the championship, however I don’t give it some thought an excessive amount of.”
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