Carlos Sainz recorded his third career race victory at the recent Australian Grand Prix, with a performance that displayed not only impressive pace, but also great assuredness as he managed his way to victory, capitalising on the misfortune of Max Verstappen, for whom a brake issue forced an early retirement; this feat was made even more heroic by Sainz’s recent operation to remove his appendix, which saw him miss the previous race. It seems harsh then, given Sainz has now won two races since the last time anyone else not driving a dominant Red Bull car managed the same, that Ferrari should be dispensing of his services for next season.
Lewis Hamilton, who has agreed to join the team in 2025, is not what he once was, and even that level has been blown vastly out of proportion by favourable statistics over the years, but for the sake of the argument, let’s take it as read that Ferrari see Hamilton as the driver his statistics suggest he is, a championship contender; in that case, signing him would be a no-brainer.
This leaves one seat up for grabs between the current incumbents, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari golden boy, Leclerc, was given the nod without any great discussion, which made me question whether there should have indeed been more thought going into the decision.
Firstly, having been seen as the team’s perceived saviour for some years now, Ferrari signing another championship contending driver in the shape of Hamilton will not only come as something of a slap in the face, but will also create a tricky dynamic within the team. As much as nostalgics and romantics like me want to see two equal drivers competing at the sharp end of the field, it is not the done thing any more, and furthermore, it is much more likely that if Ferrari find themselves in a title fight, it will be up against Red Bull, than as clear frontrunners. In this scenario, Ferrari will need every point they can get their hands on, so squabbling between team-mates can hardly be something which can simply be accepted. As someone who hasn’t been anointed as the saviour of the team in the way Leclerc has, asking Sainz to play second fiddle should it be necessary would likely produce far less damaging repercussions.
Also, it is not as though Leclerc has ever blown Sainz away during their time as team-mates. In their three seasons, Leclerc has finished ahead on points twice, with Sainz succeeding in his debut season in 2021, with last year being exceedingly close. It should be noted that Sainz also recorded the team’s only win of last season in a masterful effort in Singapore. On the evidence of their time as team-mates, Leclerc seems to be the driver you want when every condition is in your favour, while Sainz is the man you want for a tight scrap.
If there is an opportunity to be taken, Sainz has shown in each of his victories, and many times besides, that he always seems to be able to deliver. Like a goalscorer with ‘the knack’, or a ‘golden arm’ in cricket, Sainz has an instinct for the crucial moments; this is surely an invaluable quality.
It is also impossible to argue Leclerc has this – while he has only been in race-winning machinery for brief spells, his rather pithy total of just 5 wins compared to 23 poles is a stark reminder of this, and his crashes and mistakes have also contributed to his failure to reach the top step of the podium more often. In fact, during their time as team-mates, Carlos Sainz now has as many wins as Leclerc.
Britain’s greatest racing driver, Sir Stirling Moss, famously commented ‘I am not a driver, I am a racer.’ It seems if we wish to draw this comparison today, while Leclerc might be a slightly better driver, Sainz is the racer of the two, and Ferrari should have thought more on this before making their decision.
“Ferrari F1-75 Carlos Sainz” by imp98 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0