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Carlos Sainz would be open to a return to Ferrari in the future of his F1 career as he believes he is leaving the team on good terms. He is set to be replaced by Lewis Hamilton in the 2025 season.
After signing with the Italian outfit in 2021, Sainz has remained a competitive driver on the grid. He has bagged three wins with the team since his first one in 2022 and is a consistent finisher in the top 10. This season, he has finished in the top 6 in every race (except for Canada).
Despite his competitive results with the team, Sainz will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton in 2025. The announcement was made prior to the start of the current season. However, Carlos Sainz feels he will have a door open at Ferrari in the future. Labeling himself as a "sacrifice" for Hamilton, he said:
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"Perhaps the hardest thing to explain is that there is nothing that didn’t work with Ferrari," Sainz said, speaking to DAZN at Zandvoort. "It’s simply that there was a seven-time world champion who decided that the last part of his racing career would be spent at Ferrari and in that sense I was a bit of a sacrifice."
He added that he is leaving the team on a good note, and that might leave a door open for him in the future. Sainz feels that he has around a decade-worth of racing left in him.
"I leave Ferrari with good results, with a good relationship with both Fred and Charles. I think we made a good team, we got victories, podiums together, a good relationship with all the engineers, with the fans. So you can never close the door to a team like Ferrari, considering that I still have five or ten years of career left."
For the 2025 season, Carlos Sainz is set to partner Alex Albon at Williams Racing. He was originally set to replace Logan Sargeant, but the American driver was replaced by the team mid-season earlier this week. Franco Colapinto will take the wheel instead of Sargeant from the Italian Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz looking forward to his "emotional" last Italian GP as a Ferrari driver
Heading towards the home race of the Prancing Horse, the team has prepared itself with a major upgrade package and a special livery. The Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza has always been special for Ferrari and its drivers.
Seemingly, it is even more important for Carlos Sainz, who will be racing on the circuit as a Ferrari driver for the final time.
"Obviously an emotional weekend for me, but more than anything just trying to enjoy it as much as possible and to embrace every second of it because it’s a pretty cool thing to be a Ferrari driver in Monza," Sainz said.
"Trying to be as present as possible and enjoy every moment. I think we need to wait to see the new track, the new tarmac, the upgrades. See where we are Friday and then decide whether we are going to fight for pole position and the win, or whether we are going to fight for podium or top five or top eight. Only time will tell," he concluded.
Ferrari looked strong early in the season, competing for the top spots and snatching two wins for both Carlos Sainz (Australia) and Charles Leclerc (Monaco). However, its competitors have since seemed to have developed better. McLaren is statistically the fastest car on the grid right now, and is actively in battle with Red Bull. Meanwhile, Ferrari seems to be third or fourth fastest, depending on the circuit.
