Sainz thinks that with Hamilton, Ferrari's title shot 'has only improved'
Atlassian Williams F1 Team
F1 News
Carlos Sainz, who was ousted by Ferrari to make way for Lewis Hamilton, thinks his replacement will do well at the Italian F1 team. However, he stresses that past performance does not show the full picture and the level of competitiveness the Briton will show in the SF-25 depends on several factors.
Sainz coy on Hamilton's chances at Ferrari
"Honestly, I don't know. I've never been teammates with Lewis, so I don't know what he's capable of doing. I've never seen his data," Sainz began at Williams' car launch to selected media including GPblog. "I've seen Charles and I know how good Charles is, but I've never been teammates with Lewis. And the only way you can more or less evaluate purely a driver is when you're their teammate and you see what they're capable of doing."
Judging purely on Hamilton's past results with McLaren and Mercedes, Sainz thinks that the Briton will do well at Ferrari, whilst pointing out that there are many more factors at play to actually make a prediction.
'Ferrari's title chances have only improved with Hamilton'
"When I judge by results and his background and what he's achieved, I can only say there's a very high chance that obviously he's going to be competitive in Ferrari. But like everything, it will all depend on how well you can adapt to a car, how well you can adapt to a team, and in which moment is your teammate in," the Spaniard continued.
"So many variables that it's impossible for me to predict. But I can only say when I left Ferrari, I did feel the team, both Ferrari and Charles, were ready to fight for a World Championship. And with Lewis joining, that chance only got increased," Sainz concluded.
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