The highlight of the 2025 System 1 season will undoubtedly be on Lewis Hamilton as he embarks on his first 12 months with Ferrari, marking a historic chapter in his illustrious profession. After spending 17 seasons with McLaren and Mercedes, Hamilton now joins essentially the most iconic workforce in F1 historical past, chasing a record-breaking eighth world championship. Ferrari, although a powerhouse within the sport, has not seen a driver declare the championship since 2007, when Kimi Raikkonen narrowly edged Hamilton within the remaining race of the season.
The Scuderia got here agonizingly near profitable the title once more in 2008, just for Hamilton’s dramatic overtake on Timo Glock within the closing laps of the Brazilian Grand Prix to disclaim Felipe Massa his first championship. Since then, Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc have come shut, with Alonso ending second within the standings twice and Leclerc attaining the identical feat in 2022, however falling far behind Max Verstappen within the factors.
Nevertheless, 2025 could possibly be the 12 months Ferrari lastly ends its championship drought. Sadly for Carlos Sainz, he received’t have the chance to guide the cost. In a tough resolution, workforce principal Frederic Vasseur selected to switch Carlos Sainz with the British driver for the brand new season, leaving the Spanish driver to race for Williams as a substitute.
Autosport journalist and F1 professional Roberto Chinchero has make clear the emotional challenges confronted by Carlos Sainz in his exit from Ferrari, revealing that the shortage of different F1 presents proved to be even more durable for the 30-year-old than shedding his seat to Hamilton.
Roberto Chinchero mentioned Carlos Sainz’s exit from the Maranello workforce, explaining that whereas not everybody understood why the workforce let Carlos Sainz go final 12 months, the driving force himself accepted that his substitute wouldn’t be simply any driver. In accordance with the Italian journalist, it was not the truth that Lewis Hamilton could be taking his seat that was most tough for Carlos Sainz to simply accept, however slightly that three different high groups had vacancies and didn’t strategy him. Chinchero additionally famous that, over time, even the Italian media had come to acknowledge that Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari was one thing actually exceptional. He added that whereas the longer term could be decided by efficiency on observe, the preliminary a part of the story—with out the noise of the engines—had been flawless.
Each Mercedes and Crimson Bull have made vital adjustments to their driver line-ups for the 2025 System 1 season, whereas McLaren has remained constant by protecting Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of their seats. In distinction, Carlos Sainz has launched into a brand new chapter of his profession with Williams, a workforce at present positioned decrease within the standings than he would have hoped.
Why Did Carlos Sainz Be a part of Williams in 2025?
The announcement of Lewis Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari in February 2024 created a ripple impact all through the paddock, and Sainz’s availability turned extensively identified properly earlier than the driving force market frenzy, also called “foolish season,” actually started. With a number of high-profile drivers coming into the market on the finish of the 2024 season, the Spaniard was linked to just about each high workforce.
Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ workforce principal, confirmed that Sainz was one in all their choices earlier than they in the end determined to advertise Andrea Kimi Antonelli to the senior workforce. In the meantime, Audi expressed a powerful want to signal the Spanish driver, however the present struggles confronted by Sauber made it unclear if the workforce could possibly be aggressive within the close to future. Crimson Bull, however, didn’t actively pursue Carlos Sainz, doubtlessly because of the strained relationship between his father and Max Verstappen’s camp.
After contemplating numerous choices, Carlos Sainz selected to signal with Williams, a choice that was welcomed by workforce principal James Vowles, who was desperate to safe the deal. Whereas Williams will not be able to compete for championships within the instant future, Sainz might be seeking to assist the workforce climb the standings over the approaching seasons. For the Grove-based workforce, it will likely be important to display to Sainz that, though a title problem will not be on the playing cards for now, he has joined an formidable and upward-bound workforce.
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