Will Ferrari regret sacking Sainz? 'more mentally stable than Leclerc'

Did Ferrari make a mistake by replacing Sainz?

Sainz will become Alexander Albon's new teammate at Williams in the 2025 Formula 1 season, as seven-time world champion Hamilton will take his place at the Scuderia. There was never any doubt as to which of the two Ferrari drivers should make way for the Brit. Leclerc has been seen as an essential part of the team for years, and no doubt will continue to be for the future.

Surer questions the illustrious team's choice to drop the Spaniard. "Sainz would have been the safer choice. Leclerc is the faster driver of the two, but Sainz is luckier," the 72-year-old Swiss judged in conversation with Formel1.de. By this, he is referring to the fact that Leclerc has more speed but 'loses out' when there is a problem. At such a moment, Sainz is there, according to the 82-time Grand Prix starter.

Surer: 'Sainz is more mentally stable than Leclerc'

As an example, he cites the worst results of both drivers. Whereas Leclerc has an 11th and 14th place to his name, Sainz's worst result is sixth. Moreover, Sainz wins races he "shouldn't win" says Surer, referring to the Australian Grand Prix (after Max Verstappen crashed out early with a brake problem) and the Singapore Grand Prix in 2023.

"Even now, he has occasionally finished on the podium, with people saying, 'Where did he come from?' And that's exactly what Sainz does, he gets it done," The Swiss driver continued. Moreover, he sees Sainz as more mentally stable than Leclerc under pressure, referring to the mistakes the Monegasque sometimes makes.

Still, the former ATS, Brabham and Arrows driver acknowledges that Ferrari had little choice but to go for the faster of the two. "If you want to be world champion, you have to take the fastest driver. And Leclerc is the fastest," Surer concludes.

This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon.