Carlos Sainz “will cheer” for Ferrari to win the 2025 F1 title but does not mention Lewis Hamilton in his farewell speech
Carlos Sainz promised to cheer for Ferrari in the world championship battle while driving for Williams but did not mention anything about Lewis Hamilton, who replaces him in the team. The Spaniard recently raced in his final Grand Prix with Ferrari.
Before the 2024 F1 season, Ferrari announced they had hired Lewis Hamilton, who will join them in 2025. This meant that 2024 became the last season for Carlos Sainz with the team. The Spaniard has been with the Maranello-based outfit since 2021, with four race wins and 27 podium finishes with them. Even in his last season with them, he bagged two race wins in Australia and Mexico.
During the farewell party at the Ferrari hospitality center after the Abu Dhabi GP, Carlos Sainz spoke a few parting words to the team. He praised them by saying that he feels the Italian giants are ready to win a drivers' and a constructors' championship next year. He then fondly added that he would cheer for the team even while driving for Williams. He expressed that he wants the team and also Charles Leclerc to win titles in the future.
During his entire speech, however, he did not mention Lewis Hamilton once. Since Hamilton is moving to a new team, many fans would want him to clinch his record-breaking eighth world title.
“For me, you are ready to win a WCC. You are a very strong team and this year you have shown you are all ready to win the 2025 WCC and I will cheer for you from Williams because I would really like to see Charles and you World Champions. So good luck,” Carlos said.
Carlos Sainz on how he quickly recovered from the fact that he was getting replaced by Lewis Hamilton
Before his last race with Ferrari, Carlos Sainz expressed his feelings about getting replaced by Lewis Hamilton.
Speaking on Beyond the Grid podcast, Sainz said that he was first incensed at the decision, but eventually understood why Lewis Hamilton was picked to succeed him. He claimed he understood and moved on because a seven-time world champion was taking his spot. He praised Hamilton for being one of the best to grace the sport.
“I understood it almost right from the beginning. I think if it would have been someone else, I would have taken a lot more longer to understand. But when you understand Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion and one of the best – if not the best in history – is going to replace you as Ferrari. And Lewis has decided to do his last part of his career in Ferrari, and that you need to be one of the two drivers sacrificed for that to happen – I understand,” Sainz said at 17:16.
Carlos Sainz already had his first taste of the Williams FW46 after the Abu Dhabi GP. He drove the car during the post-season test at Yas Marina Circuit.