Carlos Sainz is joining Williams F1 for 2025, but not before Ferrari threw him the greatest farewell party he could ever have hoped for.
Instead of starting the year with a review of a car, I thought we would kick off 2025 with a feel-good story. There is some bittersweetness about it, I admit, but in the end, it feels like the motorsport world is as it should be.
This story was set in Maranello on December 17, Carlos Sainz Jr.’s last day as a Ferrari driver. When he arrived, four years earlier, to partner Charles Leclerc for 2021, he became the 96th driver in Ferrari’s F1 history. That history comprises 16 Constructors’ and 15 Drivers’ Championships, more than any other team. Formula One is Ferrari and Ferrari is Formula One, the only squad to have entered every one of the 1099 races held so far.
Carlos Sainz Jr. is the son of Carlos Sainz Sr., one of the greatest drivers in the history of motorsport, with two World Rally Championships and four Dakar Rally titles to his name – including last year’s, at the age of 61! As you are reading this, he is powering through the dunes of Saudi Arabia, again, in search of a fifth Dakar win.
Sainz Jr. is known for his speed, his discipline and his absolute commitment to his team but, mostly, for his work ethics – something that, unsurprisingly, is also the main trait of Sainz Sr. Father Sainz taught his son well.
Sainz Jr.’s first win, and Ferrari’s 241st, came on July 3, 2022, in Silverstone, at the British GP. Carlitos would go on to win another three races in red, all of them incredible victories, including a masterclass under the night lights in Singapore 2023, and an out of the blue victory in Melbourne only 16 days after he had surgery to remove his appendix.
One year ago, he learned he was being replaced for 2025 by seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, and that 2024 would be his last year with the Scuderia. Knowing he was losing what was effectively his dream job ever since he told his father he wanted to be a racing driver must have been extremely difficult for Carlos, but he never wavered his resolve and won in Australia and Mexico, and added another seven podiums to his name in 2024.
From the win in Mexico, on October 27, a certain sadness began to fill the air around the Scuderia. Neither Carlos nor anyone in the team wanted him to leave and rumours even started circulating that both parties were already talking about a comeback after Hamilton’s tenure.
And so, we come to the reason why I chose to write this text in the first place. Ferrari gave Sainz the nicest farewell ever, one that deserves to be mentioned. The Scuderia invited Sainz Jr. and Sainz Sr. to Ferrari’s private Fiorano circuit, so they could drive together on track. And in not just any car: Sainz Sr. was offered a drive in the Ferrari F1-75 in which his son won in Silverstone back in 2022. Carlos let his father rip around for a few laps and then joined him in a similar car for what was a memorable morning for the Sainz family.
Sainz Sr. took to Instagram to say: “I don’t want to let another second pass without thanking the entire Ferrari family for the unforgettable day. You can imagine that for someone with a huge passion for the world of Motorsport, driving a Ferrari Formula 1 in Fiorano is something unique and very special, but even more so if it is with the one that Carlos won his first race. I will never forget this day. Thank you!”
As for Carlitos: “Wrapping up my time with @scuderiaferrari at Fiorano by driving with my dad with the car I won in Silverstone was the perfect way to close these four seasons. Thank you, team, for this experience, we’ll remember it forever.”
In the end, Ferrari’s team principal Fred Vasseur gifted the Spaniard his #55 F1-75 as a token of appreciation for his dedication and his love for the team. Asked if he had anything to say to Hamilton, Sainz said: “It’s an incredible place to be a part of and an incredible place to drive (…). There’s nothing better than being a Ferrari Formula 1 driver.”
Carlos Sainz Jr. will be at Williams this year and Hamilton will be in red, fulfilling what he too says was his dream as a kid. I hope Hamilton does well and that he can get that elusive eighth title. To reach it with Ferrari, surpassing the record he holds together with Michael Schumacher, would certainly be the sporting event of 2025 or 2026.
And I also hope the rumours are true and that Sainz can come back after that, as he is a Ferrari driver at heart. Sport should never lose sight of its human side and Sainz is someone who deserves to wear the Prancing Horse once again. We’ll be seeing you Carlitos.
Motoring Trade | Business, Services, Marketplace – click here
