Sainz admits losing Ferrari seat to Hamilton ‘a bit of a surprise’

Carlos Sainz was informed well in advance of Ferrari’s decision to replace him with Lewis Hamilton for 2025, but the news still came as “a bit of a surprise” for the Spaniard.

Speculation over Sainz’s future with the Scuderia emerged in the wake of the announcement of Charles Leclerc’s contract extension with the Italian outfit.

The fact that Ferrari made no mention of Sainz suggested that talks between the two parties had reached a stalemate.

In reality, talks never entered a decisive phase as Ferrari had already committed to signing Hamilton, and Sainz was informed of the situation.

“I think there was obviously a bit of a surprise, like everyone in the Formula 1 world, with the news,” he told the media at the launch of Ferrari’s new F1 car on Tuesday. “I think everyone was surprised in a way with what happened.

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“From my side, you can obviously understand that I got the news a bit earlier than anyone else. But it’s true that then I had some weeks to reflect, some weeks to prepare and some weeks to also get ready for the car launch for the first race of the season.

“So it gives you a bit of time to digest it, to draw your own conclusions how to focus on the 2024 season.”

Deep down, there was no sugar coating Sainz’s disappointment with seeing his stay at the Scuderia cut short. However, the 29-year-old believes that the status he acquired as a Ferrari driver bodes well for his future in F1.

“I think I’m actually very privileged to be part of Ferrari and still having a year ahead of me, a total of four years as a Ferrari driver,” he said.

“And I think once you are a Ferrari driver, you can go to every team from now on having been at Ferrari. Having been a Ferrari driver I think does good to any driver on the grid.

“If on top of that you add the fact that I won races for Ferrari, I made pole positions, I made podiums, I think I’ve helped this team to move forward up the grid and to be a better team, [then] my overall feeling of these four years is definitely positive.

"I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me because I’m sure there is going to be good things coming.”

Sainz said that he’ll leave Ferrari with a trove of positive memories, on the track and off it.

While acknowledging the bittersweet nature of his departure, Sainz looks forward to creating more "good memories" in his final year with the Scuderia before embarking on a new chapter in his F1 journey.

“I have very, very good memories in this team but I would start with the first day driving a Ferrari in Fiorano,” he said. “My first ever lap in a Ferrari around Fiorano is one of the most emotional moments of my career.

“Then my first podium with Ferrari, first pole, first win and then obviously the Singapore win. And then along the way, a lot of great moments with the people in this team I take with me a lot of good friends in the paddock.

“A lot of great engineers that I’ve worked with, great mechanics, great management people in different levels and hopefully still with one year ahead of us still good memories to be made.”

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