Ferrari was going to leave Carlos Sainz to sign Lewis Hamilton, according to Express Sport readers. The legendary Briton stunned the world of motorsport when his move to the Scuderia was announced in February, but his performances since then have raised concerns about his longevity in the sport.
When Fred Vasseur called to bring the seven-time world champion to Maranello, he started the 2024 campaign with a comfortable finish to the P3 drivers’ championship with only Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez by his side.
However, after five rounds of the 2024 season, Hamilton languishes in ninth position in the standings with just an eighth-best to his name. His impressive comeback in Shanghai saw him finish ninth when he was 18th on the grid, but this result means that the iconic Briton has only suffered six problems in the last 4 Grands Prix.
In a survey of 1,610 Express Sport readers, 82 of Cent Vasseur had made a mistake in renewing Sainz’s contract, and only 18 of Cent believed the Frenchman had done the right thing to leave out the former Renault and McLaren star and point the finger at Hamilton when he had the chance.
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While Hamilton’s struggles are understandable given the context of misfortune, the unpredictability of Mercedes’ 2024 challenger W15 and poor qualifying record following unfortunate set-up experiences, it is transparent that all seven world champions have been overshadowed by Sainz this year.
Following the confirmation of his departure from Ferrari in February, Sainz is a man on a mission. The Spaniard started the crusade with a podium with the two Red Bulls, before recovering from a stint on the bench with appendicitis by winning the Australian Grand Prix with an exceptionally calm drive.
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Sainz’s third Grand Prix win of his career was then subsidized by another podium in Japan before his top-three run ended with a P5 finish in Shanghai last weekend. Such consistent performances left him just seven points behind Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc despite missing the race due to illness.
While Sainz has had to make peace with the fact that his Ferrari career is over, the 29-year-old has no shortage of characteristics ahead of his next move. Red Bull and Mercedes are mulling over signing the Spaniard, while Audi need to make him the face of their F1 assignment ahead of his arrival in 2026.
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