With the signing of Lewis Hamilton by Formula 1 giants Ferrari for 2025, Carlos Sainz found himself in an unenviable position of losing a seat he very much deserves. After his last race with Ferrari in 2024, Sainz will not have a seat in the F1 circuit (as of now). The top and even some mid-table teams have somewhat guaranteed positions for their racers, and barring the unprecedented Hamilton move, Sainz would have kept it too. If not anyone else, Sainz should have kept his place in the circuit. There may not be anyone who currently deserves a seat more than him.
Carlos Sainz had an incredible journey quite recently. He was to undergo an appendectomy, for which he had to miss the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Not only was he back immediately for the next Grand Prix in Australia, he went on to perform of a lifetime. He secured a commanding victory in the race, and with LeClerc finishing second, it was a 1-2 finish for Ferrari, something that had become a rarity in recent times. He is interestingly the ONLY non-Red Bull racer to win a race from not just 2024, but from 2023! Amid the Max Verstappen domination that teams have been enslaved to witness, Carlos Sainz has risen above expectations. Before the Australian GP, he went on to win the Singapore GP last year. He is a consistent racer who gives it his all on the track. Which is exactly why he deserves much better than the situation he finds himself in.
His talent hasn’t been under the radar in any way or form though, with multiple teams like Red Bull, Mercedes and others looking at Sainz as a prospect. But the frontrunners are currently Audi, who is set to enter Formula 1 in 2026 after their acquisition of Sauber, and are looking to rope in Sainz and possibly Nico Hulkenberg as their grid racers. This would be a reunion of these two former Renault teammates from 2018. This is a clear indicator that Carlos Sainz indeed is one of the hottest candidates that teams are looking at to represent them on the track. But a racer of his calibre must never have been in a situation where he is currently unemployed in 2025, something that he joked about.
When Sainz was brought into Ferrari, he was always going to be second fiddle to the enterprising young Monaco driver Charles LeClerc. While there is no doubting the talent that Charles possesses, with consistent performances and racking up whatever points he can with the machine he is provided, it just doesn’t seem fair for a racer like Sainz to not be the lead racer. There’s no reason to exclaim other than that life is just unfair sometimes, and Sainz has often unfortunately found the short stick of luck throughout his career. He is a dedicated racer who simply must get more fruitful opportunities, and whatever fate has willed for Sainz, we can only hope that it is finally what he truly deserves.
