F1 News
Sainz put extreme pressure on Hamilton and Ferrari for 2025
Ferrari says goodbye to Carlos Sainz and hails Lewis Hamilton as its new driver from 2025. The bar is high for Hamilton, as Sainz has done everything in 2024 to put pressure on the Briton and Ferrari's management in 2025.
Sainz may drive for Williams in 2025, but his presence will still be felt at Ferrari in the early months of the season. Indeed, in four years, Sainz has made a very strong impression as Charles Leclerc's teammate. In 2024, the two were almost impossible to separate.
Leclerc won the qualifying and racing duels over his teammate, as he had mostly done in the previous three years. In 2024, however, the gap between the two was minimal. In qualifying, Sainz lost an average of 0.026s on his teammate, the smallest gap between teammates in the whole of 2024 and that relative to a driver considered to be one of the best over one lap.
In the races, the difference is also minimal. Leclerc won the race duel 13-8, scoring 50 points more than Sainz in the races they raced together.
Why the bar is so high for Hamilton
So, in that respect, the bar is immediately high for Hamilton. The Briton was brought in to much fanfare. The seven-time world champion needs to help the team to another world title, but does Lewis still have it? After all, in his last year with Mercedes, he was trounced by George Russell in both duels. In qualifying, the final score was 14-7 in Russell's favour. Unprecedented figures in Hamilton's career.
This will not be an easy task for Hamilton in the first year with a new team and in a new car. Leclerc has been in the team since 2019, has helped develop the car to the point where it is today and so will also know all the ins and outs of the Ferrari. In addition, since the summer break, Leclerc has also been the driver scoring the most points, and thus the man, and team, in form.
This means a big test for Hamilton, who will be 40 once the Formula 1 season gets underway, and for Ferrari's management. In particular, John Elkann, Ferrari's CEO, is said to have pushed for Hamilton's arrival to Ferrari. It yielded immediate results for Italian Marquee when their market value was announced on the stock exchange, but it ultimately hinges on performance.
While Hamilton makes a lot of money for Ferrari, the Briton, with seven world titles under his belt, obviously costs a lot, too, reportedly even more than Leclerc. It is then important that Hamilton competes for the world title, eventually wins the world title or at least plays an important role in it. If Hamilton cannot reach that level or just causes unrest within the team, then not extending Sainz's contract may have been a very expensive mistake.
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