Carlos Sainz was “amazing all season” in the way he approached his final year with Ferrari, according to team principal Fred Vasseur.
Ferrari signed Lewis Hamilton to drive for the team from 2025 onwards, with the announcement of the move coming ahead of the 2024 season. That meant Sainz knew he was being replaced but still had a full year to race for Ferrari, and Vasseur is full of praise for the way the Spaniard handled the situation to keep pushing the team forward.
“You know in our business that you are always trying to think about the next step and today we have at the factory guys that were focused [in Abu Dhabi] on the strategy, you have guys working on 2025, we have also some guys working on 2026. It’s a [never ending] situation — it’s not that you are finishing something one day and starting the other day.
“I asked everybody, at least on track, to be focused on 2024 until the end. I asked the same of Carlos at the beginning of the season and I think we did very well and he did very well. He was amazing all season, even when he was discussing [his future] with other teams. He stayed very professional, very dedicated and he did a brilliant job.”
Vasseur says he has quickly turned his attention to the 2025 season once he was over the disappointment of missing out on the constructors’ championship at the final race in Abu Dhabi last weekend.
“It’s true that I will try to put 2024 somewhere [behind me] and to think about next year because I think we have a good opportunity — we are improving collectively and the mood is good. I think the feeling inside the team is that … we all have the feeling that we can do a better job — including me — and this is crucial if you want to improve.”
Sainz was released by Ferrari to take part in post-season testing for his new team Williams at the Yas Marina Circuit earlier this week, but the Scuderia has to wait a little while longer to run Hamilton for the first time as he is taking part in a number of farewell events for Mercedes and its sponsors.
